


Where'd You Go?

by vampcoffeegyrl23



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Domestic Violence, Elena's new husband is an ass, F/M, Minor Bonnie Bennett/Jeremy Gilbert, Minor Caroline Forbes/Damon Salvatore, Original Character(s), Post-Season/Series 02 AU, Season 2 AU, Stelena
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:21:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 40,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25480831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vampcoffeegyrl23/pseuds/vampcoffeegyrl23
Summary: Stefan returns to Mystic Falls after nearly a decade to find that things are not the way they were when he left. Can he save Elena from her suburban nightmare of a life before it kills her? And what or who will follow him back?
Relationships: Elena Gilbert/Original Male Character(s), Elena Gilbert/Stefan Salvatore
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	1. Prologue: No Time To Cry

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this posted on Fanfiction.net for awhile, figured I'd bring it over here. This was written a long time ago, before we even really knew much about the Mikaelsons. Looking back now, I'd probably make someone else besides Rebekah the villain (cuz I absolutely adore her now) but it didn't make much sense to change it.

original A.N.: _Okay, here's the prologue to my new Stefan/Elena story. It's a little different from anything else I've done and I'm kinda nervous about it. The subject matter is a little more dark and depressing than I'm used to. It deals with the horrors of domestic violence (but in a vampire world) so if that's something you have issues with this'll serve as your warning. It starts off where we left Elena in the season 2 finale and jumps ahead nine years. The only thing from the finale I'm not following is the final twist with Jeremy at the end and only because I'm not quite sure how that would fit into this story. Elena's portrayed very differently than we've seen her in the show but all will be explained in time and hopefully she can get herself back. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns or ideas._

Prologue: No Time to Cry

Elena turned the glass bottle in her hands, watching the blood run down the container. The breeze from Katherine's sudden arrival and departure left behind a tangible tension in the room. Damon stared at the door from the bed, his jaw slightly hanging open. The sweat was already gone from his face as if nothing had ever happened. He'll live, he was cured.

Katherine's words keep replaying in her mind:  _ "He just sacrificed everything to save his brother. Including you . . ." _

She could still feel on her cheek the touch from Stefan's hand out in the town square earlier. She could feel the desperate, worried kisses on her forehead from when he'd returned to her after she woken up from the sacrifice. She could feel his arms around her waist when her legs gave out when she'd learned what John had done for her. She could feel his hand rest on the small of her back during her second double funeral in a year.

Her mind replayed to only moments before, laying against Damon's chest, kissing his moist pale lips. A tightness strained her heart and she met Damon's eyes . . .

_ "Including you . . ." _

"Elena . . ."

Her vision became blurry and her knees buckled beneath her. Gravity increased on her as she fell to the floor but an instant before she hit the ground she felt a pair of arms around her.

The wrong arms.

These arms don't bring any comfort but only the harsh reality of what she's probably lost forever. Damon lifted her and carried her but she wishes it were his brother. Damon was talking to her but she could only hear Stefan's voice.

She could feel as she's rustled around and feels when she's no longer in his arms but on her back against something firm and soft and familiar. Her head rolls to the side and her fingers grasp at the blankets beneath her. Where did the glass bottle that had been in her hands go? She doesn't know but honestly doesn't care as it allows her to hold on to the blankets beneath her with both hands.

She inhaled and breathed in his scent, tears prickling in the corners of her eyes.

_ "Including you . . ." _

She still couldn't get Katherine's words off her mind nor the worried look on Stefan's face as he walked up to her out in the town square earlier.

Whether or not Damon is still in the room she can't tell. Tears dropped freely from her eyes and soak into the comforter.

_ "Including you . . ." _

The words echoed loudly in her ears and drowned out everything else. Her own voice . . . only not. It was as if she was haunting herself with this. And she probably would for the rest of her life. Her heart felt broken beyond repair and guilt weighed heavily in its place.

Would she ever see Stefan again? Would he ever come home to her?

Vaguely she heard Damon's words as he left the room but they barely registered to her: "I will find him, Elena. I will. You have my word . . ."

And then she was alone . . .

_ "Including you . . ." _

* * *

Almost nine years later . . .

When Elena awoke she wasn't surprised to find that she was alone in bed. She breathed a sigh of relief and glanced over at the clock . . . the alarm wouldn't go off for another twenty minutes. Sighing, she reached over and turned the alarm off. She swung her legs over the bed, wincing as she sat up. She held on to her back as she pushed the covers off and stood up. Her ribs grated together and the bruises on her inner thighs sent flares of pain up her spine. She put on her robe and slippers and walked across the hall to the bathroom.

A stray tear tracked down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. She continued with her morning routine - go to the bathroom, brush teeth, apply concealer to certain seen bruises . . .

On her way downstairs she made sure to check that Millie was still asleep. Thankfully, she was. He'd been particularly rough last night and their daughter didn't need to see or know about that. Once in the kitchen she sat down for a moment to catch her bearings before she made coffee. Once the coffee was brewing she prepared Millie's favorite breakfast: french toast, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream

When the clock struck 7:20, Elena painfully made her way back upstairs to get dressed. She put on a pair of comfortable jeans and a long sleeve shirt. Then she reluctantly pulled out her curling iron and curled her naturally-straight hair into loose curls. She hated having curly hair – it brought up too many memories of doppelgangers – but he preferred her with curly hair. Sometimes she wished she could just tell him to go find Katherine and leave her alone but he didn't even know about that part of her past.

At exactly 7:30 she finished and pulled on a pair of socks and tennis shoes. She went down the hall to Millie's room.

"Millie, sweetie . . . it's time to get up," She crooned softly as she sat down on the bed beside the girl.

"No . . . five more minutes, Mommy . . ." Millie rolled around, her eyes still closed.

"Sorry, babe, but you don't wanna be late for the school bus," Elena stroked her daughter's beautiful dirty-blonde hair. Millie sighed, slowly opening her eyes. She yawned, stretching her arms. "How'd you sleep?" Elena asked as Millie sat up and wrapped her arms around her mommy's waist.

"Good . . . but I want longer," Millie yawned.

"Little girls have to go to school," Elena sighed, hugging her.

Millie's hold tightened and Elena hissed. Millie flew back immediately. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

Chiding herself for making any noise, Elena sighed. "Nothing, sweetie. Mommy just had a klutzy moment and ran into the corner of the kitchen table."

"Oh . . ." Millie said. "Mommy, you have lots of klutzy moments."

"I know," Elena tried to smile. "Just be lucky you didn't inherit the klutzy Gilbert gene like your cousin Jack."

Millie giggled. "He's funny."

"Yes, he is," Elena also laughed. "Now come on, let's get you ready for school. I made your favorite breakfast."

Millie's eyes widened and her grin grew from ear to ear. "Thank you, Mommy!"

Elena laughed, "You're welcome. Hmm . . . what do you want to wear today?"

The door downstairs opened and Elena's heart jump up her throat. He wasn't supposed to be home until later.

Millie smiled and scrambled off her bed. "Daddy!" She giggled excitedly as she ran down the hall and downstairs.

"Millie . . . aren't you supposed to be getting ready for school?" His deep voice echoed all the way upstairs.

At the sound of his voice, Elena's entire body tensed.

"I will, Daddy," Millie was still giggling.

"Where's your Mom?" He said.

"Upstairs," Millie answered.

"Hey kiddo, why don't you go eat your breakfast while I talk to Mommy. Okay?" He told her.

"Okay, Daddy," Millie answered.

Elena gulped. Why was he home? What did he want from her? She'd try'd to do everything he'd asked of her last night. She slowly stood and started walking out into the hall, trying to walk like she wasn't in pain.

Then he appeared walking up the stairs. She immediately smiled when he turned to look at her. "Honey, what are you doing home? I thought you had a meeting this morning."

"Damn useless secretary spilled coffee on my shirt," Phillip rolled his eyes. He ran his hands through his blonde hair. Sure enough, he sported a large liquid stain all down his front. "When I get back to work I'm firing her."

"Here, let me get you a new one," She went into their room and opened his closet. She pulled out his favorite blue shirt from a hanger. When she turned around his tie and the stained shirt were already discarded on the floor. Once upon a time she'd already have her hands all over his bare chest. Things were different now . . . he wasn't the same man she'd married.

He roughly snatched the shirt in her hand and pulled her toward him. With his other hand he gently tugged on her curls. "You curled your hair." She nodded slightly - he still had a fistful of hair.

"You've said you like it curly," She tried to control the tremble in her voice.

"That's right . . . I do," He smirked. He kissed her roughly, his hand still running through her curls.

"D-Darling . . ." She pulled back her lips, panting. "Shouldn't you get back to work? A-And I need to get Millie ready for school."

He just stared at her and she braced herself for the blow. But . . . it never came. Instead he just sighed and groaned in frustration. "Yeah . . . you're right." He pulled her flush to him and she squealed in surprise. "I just can't help it . . . I can't get enough of my incredibly sexy wife." With another sigh, he let her go and put on the clean shirt.

She sighed in relief but didn't let him notice. Thank god he had to get back to work.

"Later though, babe. You owe me," He smirked, swatting her ass playfully.

Elena forced a smile even though she was crying inside. Hadn't he had enough last night? Or the night before?

He glanced at his watch. "Shit . . . I gotta get back. I have a patient coming in for an appointment." He buttoned his shirt and put his tie back on and disappeared downstairs without another word to her. She heard him bid Millie a sweet goodbye and with the slam of a door he was gone.

Elena let out a deep breath of relief and collapsed on the bed.

There was the shattering of glass. "Mommy, I made a mess!" Millie shouted downstairs.

Sighing, Elena regained her composure and went downstairs. There wasn't ever time to curl up in bed and cry.

_ to be continued . . . _


	2. Chapter 1: Sunk in Biology

_ A little later that morning . . . _

"Millie, sweetheart, the bus'll be here any minute!" Elena called up the stairs, holding a tiny pink backpack in her hands.

"Coming, Mommy!" Millie shouted back.

Elena heard tiny feet running around upstairs, convinced Millie was on her way down. She frowned when she heard the doorbell. Who would be here this early in the morning? "Hurry up, baby!" She sighed, her hand on her sore back and ribs as she went over to open the door. She dropped her hand and swung the door open. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart fluttered. Was she imagining things? Was she dreaming? "Stefan . . ."

"Hello, Elena," Stefan indeed stood on her doorstep at eight in the morning. "I know it's been a long time."

He was here . . . it wasn't a dream. After so many years . . . "I-I . . ." She didn't even know what to say. Self consciously she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, letting out a deep painful breath.

His eyes fell on the pink backpack. "What are y―"

"Mommy, I'm ready! Is the bus here yet?" Little Millie peeked out from behind Elena's legs. Her eyes were up on the strange man her mommy was talking to. Never one to be shy, she eyed him suspiciously. "Who's that?"

A million things were going through Elena's brain all at once and she couldn't focus. She couldn't even get her mouth to open. Just then the bus pulled up and Millie anxiously ran outside. "Bye, Mommy!"

Elena blinked, tearing her gaze from a confused Stefan. "Um . . . bye honey. H-Have a good day at school. I love you!"

"Love you too, Mommy!" Millie waved as she got on the bus. The old driver Mr. Nettles – who'd been the driver long before Elena was a kid – waved as he drove off.

"Elena . . ." Stefan's voice drew her back in. She glanced at him. Every time he spoke sent shivers down her spine. He was now staring at the wedding band set on her ring finger. "Can we . . . talk?"

Tired, she thought. He looked tired. Had she ever seen him so tired? She didn't think so. She found her voice. "Where have you been?"

Her question threw him off. "Not now. Can we just talk?" He glanced around the neighborhood. "Inside . . . please?"

"Um . . ." She shifted, glancing back in the house. It was probably better. If one of the neighbors saw they'd tell him. "Yeah . . . c-come in." She stepped inside, allowing Stefan to cross the threshold. Memories of the first time she'd invited him in her childhood home flashed in her mind.

Stefan nodded and she closed the door behind him. They stood in the doorway in the awkwardness. It felt so weird to be around him after so many years. And oddly comforting . . .

She turned her upper body to start walking deeper in the house, gesturing for him to follow her. A pain spread throughout her ribs and she sucked in a breath, her feet halting.

Stefan was in front of her in a moment, his hands gently on her shoulders. He scanned her over. "What's wrong? You're hurt. What happened to you?"

"F-fell down the stairs," She lied, not looking him in the eyes.

"No . . . I don't buy it," He shook his head. "Look at me, Elena."

She obediently raised her head, an unwanted tear gathering in the corner of her eye. Her eyes locked with his and she couldn't let go of his gaze. She spent too many moments convinced she'd never see him again.

"There's faded bruises around your eyes, your cheeks," Stefan's voice sounded as broken as she felt inside.

She stepped back, clearing her throat. She wiped her eyes. "I'm a klutz." She chuckled, hoping he'd drop the subject. "Sometimes I trip over my own two feet . . ."

Stefan was still staring at her. It was unnerving.

"I-I thought you wanted to talk," She sighed. "Why don't we sit in the living room?" Stefan nodded. "Would you like some coffee?”

"Sure," Stefan said. She led him to the living room and disappeared in the kitchen to get some coffee. She took a few deep breaths, wiping leftover tears from her eyes. Taking a few more breaths, she went back into the living room with two mugs. She found Stefan staring at the family pictures on the mantle above the fireplace. She set the mugs down on coasters on the table and went to stand by him.

Stefan was holding a recent picture of Millie. "She's beautiful."

Thankful for the change of subject, Elena allowed herself to smile. "Millie's my everything. I dunno what I'd do without her."

"She's . . . four?" Stefan guessed.

"Six, actually," Elena told him, sighing, as she thought of the first two months of Millie's life spent in the NICU. "She's small for her age. She was born a couple months premature. She's perfectly healthy . . . just small."

Stefan nodded, putting the frame back where he'd found it. He picked up another one – this one of Millie, Elena, and Phillip. "You look happy . . . all of you do."

"Sometimes." The word flew out of Elena's mouth before she could stop herself and she inhaled in surprise.

Stefan's head whipped around to face her. "Sometimes?"

"W-we are," She corrected herself, exhaling deeply. "We're happy."

Stefan seemed to study her. He was watching her face as if to see something she wasn't telling. He put the second frame back.

"I got us some coffee," She tried to get him to sit down. "It's decaffeinated though. We don't keep any caffeine in the house."

"You love caffeine," He said as they sat down.

His statement caught her off-guard. "I've changed, Stefan. I'm not seventeen anymore. I've grown up."

"I'm sorry . . ." He seemed startled by the gruffness of her voice. "I didn't mean anything by it."

She instantly regretted the harsh tone she'd had. She was so used to being on the defensive all the time. "It's okay . . . I just . . . I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I just don't understand why you're here.”

He just stared at her.

"It's been nine years, Stefan," Elena's voice caught in her throat.

"I know," He sighed.

"You left and didn't even say goodbye. I didn't know if you were ever coming back," Elena said.

"I wasn't," Stefan put his mug down.

"But―" Elena watched him curiously.

"I did it," He smiled weakly, sighing. "Klaus is dead."

Her eyes widened.

"What did you know about where I was?" He questioned.

"N-Nothing," Elena shook her head, putting her own mug down. "Katherine brought the cure f-for Damon. She said you gave yourself to Klaus to get the cure. A-And then she was gone. She hasn't been back since."

"Katherine's desiccating in a tomb underground in Atlanta," Stefan told her. He wasn't looking at her. Elena was both comforted and disturbed by that statement and the tone with which Stefan spoke it.

"W-we tried to find you. All of us – me, Damon, Bonnie, Caroline, Ric, Jeremy . . . we've been searching for years but we couldn't find anything." Elena's heart was beating furiously.

"I had to . . ." Stefan sighed. "It was the only way to save Damon."

"By leaving me?" Elena's voice was trembling. All the pent-up feelings of nine years were bursting. "I needed you . . . and you were gone."

"I'm sorry." He said. He looked around. "You seem to be fine. Nice house, nice family. You're alive."

"I adjusted," She said quietly. She glanced at the clock. "You need to go. I have things to do."

"What are you afraid of?" Stefan was watching her again.

"What? Nothing. I'm just busy." She deflected. "Please, just go."

"We weren't finished talking," He told her.

"Come over tomorrow . . . same time." She blurted. "Now please, go."

Stefan sighed, nodding. He stood. Elena practically pushed him out the door.

Once he was gone, she sighed. She couldn't take the chance that her husband would come home early again or that one of the neighbors would find out. And she certainly couldn't give Stefan any reason to believe she was lying about being klutzy.

Her first order of business now: a long, hot, bubble bath to ease her sore muscles.

She trudged up the stairs to start the bathwater and poured the lavender-smelling bubble bath in. She undressed in front of the mirror, nearly bursting into tears as she saw the fresh purple bruises mixed with the faded ones that covered her body. She'd have to go to the store and buy more concealer soon. Pretty soon she'd have to switch stores or the clerk would wonder why she's buying so much concealer.

Sniffling, she went into the bathroom and turned off the water. The tub was nearly full. As she stepped in she hissed as the hot scalding water bit at her wounds. After a few moments her skin numbed and she sat completely under water, letting out a deep breath.

She inhaled the fresh lavender and leaned her head against the tub. The water undid her curls, straightening her hair once again. It wasn't long before she fell asleep, dreaming sweet dreams of Stefan and the moments they'd had together in high school.

* * *

The next morning Stefan arrived promptly at Elena's house, early even. He watched Millie jump on the bus and waited until it drove off to approach the door. He knocked on the door, expecting her to open it.

"Come in!" He heard her shout. Her voice was raspy . . . maybe she just got up.

Raising an eyebrow, he opened the door and went in.

"I'm upstairs . . ." She shouted . . . followed by a pained cough.

Stefan followed her voice to a bedroom – the master bedroom. Hers and her husband’s. The thought didn't sit well with Stefan.

She gave him a weak smile as he walked in. "Hey . . ." It was barely above a whisper. She was curled up in her bed under the covers.

"You look horrible,” His gums itched, wanting to immediately find what was wrong with her. After all these years apart, it still tore him apart to see or think about her hurt or in pain.

Indeed, she did look awful. Large fresh bruises covered her face and her lip was split open with dried blood caked around the split. Tears tracked under her eyes. He was willing to bet there were more bruises hidden by clothes and covers.

"Who did this to you?" He growled.

She jumped at his harsh tone, crying. "N-No one, Stefan. Please . . . it was an accident . . ." He could tell by her voice how much it hurt her to talk, to breathe. He listened to her heartbeat, her breath going in and out of her lungs. It didn't sound good.

"Bullshit, Elena," He pulled the covers roughly off of her. She squealed. Dark bruises tracked her arms and her neck and collarbone on the skin not covered by her white satin nightgown. The nightgown seemed strange on her. When he'd known her she always preferred shorts and a tank top or one of his shirts. Had she even owned any nightgowns back then?

"Stefan . . ." She whispered.

He sat down beside her. She flinched when he accidently bumped into her hips. He gingerly pressed his fingers against her hip, her stomach. She gasped in pain. It was then that he noticed the imprint of a hand in the bruises on her shoulders.

"This wasn't an accident . . . this was intentional." Stefan's eyes rose to meet hers. He felt the blood rush under the skin in his face as her heartbeat increased. "Who did this? Who hurt you?"

She looked away from him, pulling the covers back up around her broken body. "I t-told you yesterday . . . I fell. I'm a klutz."

"This is new," He shook his head. His hand gently outlined the side of her cheek. "All this wasn't here yesterday. It happened after I left. Did the house get robbed? Was it a vampire attack?"

She turned farther away from him. Around the straps of the nightgown on her back he saw more bruises, more red marks. Some of the marks were in different stages of healing than others. Was there any part of her that wasn't bruised and broken?

"Who's been hurting you, Elena? Who is it?" A grim thought filled his head and he thought back to the day before when she'd said "sometimes" when he said she and her family looked happy. "Was it your husband?"

Her body flinched involuntarily the moment the word 'husband' left his lips. Her hands began to shake.

"It was, wasn't it? I'm gonna kill him . . ." Stefan growled.

"N-No, you can't . . ." She sniffled, turning to face him. Her held her hands together to get them to stop shaking. "He doesn't mean it . . . he doesn't. H-H-He just gets so mad. I-I make him mad. It's n-n-not his fault. It's m-me . . ."

"Are you listening to yourself, Elena? He's brainwashed you," Stefan shouted. His gaze fell on the picture of Millie on her bedside table. "Is he . . . is he hurting your daughter too?"

"No," Elena shook her head. "No . . . it's just me. He'd never do that. As long as it's only me it's okay."

Stefan sighed. "Come with me. Stay with me at the Boarding House." Elena started to protest but Stefan shook his head. "We'll pick up Millie from school early and she can stay there too. Please."

Elena sighed, still crying. "Stefan . . . it's still in my name and since we're married Phillip owns it too . . ."

"So? We'll keep him out," Stefan said.

"H-He's probably there now . . . with Amarra . . ." Elena whimpered.

Stefan's face grew angry. "Let me get this straight . . . he beat you up last night and now he's at the house you own with another woman?"

Elena shrugged, "He doesn't know that I know."

"Wait . . . where's Damon? Why hasn't he ripped this Phillip to shreds by now?" Stefan said.

"Um . . . he and Caroline are out looking for you. They left shortly after you disappeared . . ." Elena said. "The last we heard from them was a phone call two years ago." She winced, holding her ribs. "Aaah . . ."

"Elena, you could be bleeding internally," Stefan said softly. "Let me heal you . . ." He held out his wrist, about to bite it.

"No . . . Phillip will notice if I'm suddenly fine," Elena took a deep breath.

She was right. Stefan sighed. He dropped his hand. "Can I at least take you to a hospital?"

Elena shook her head. "Phillip's a doctor there. He'll find out." She took a few painful breaths. "Can you just help me draw a bath? It helps with the pain . . ."

"Of course," Stefan was gone and back in a flash. He helped her out of bed and across the hall to the bathroom. Her movements were slow and pained. She stared at him for a moment and he nodded, turning around. He heard the shuffling of clothes and Elena wincing and hissing. "Elena?"

"Yes, Stefan?" She let out a deep breath.

"Does anyone know? Alaric? Bonnie? Jeremy?" Stefan asked her.

He heard her sharp intake of breath and the squeak of tile and turned around. She was frozen . . . half in and half out of the tub without her clothes. He couldn't believe this was the same girl he'd known nine years ago. The number of bruises – both fresh and faded – astounded him. He'd never seen that many bruises on one person before. Her grip of the edge of the tub was tight but her weak and battered muscles were failing her. She was falling backwards.

Without thinking he rushed to her side to help her, his hands on her sides. She flinched at his touch, pulling away.

"S-Stefan, I'm married . . ." She hissed in pain.

"Just let me help you," He guided her in the tub and she let out a deep breath as she settled in. If he had his way, she wouldn't be married for much longer. She didn't deserve to be treated like this.

"No," She spoke. "To answer your question . . . no. Nobody knows." Her eyes were hooded with shame.

"Tell me," He aid. "Tell me. Tell me everything."

"I shouldn't . . ." She sighed. "A-And what if he comes home early?"

"You let me worry about that," He shook his head.

"B-But what about Klaus? Tell me how you killed him," Elena deflected.

"Don't do that. We'll talk about that some other time," Stefan said. "Tell me how you got in this mess."

"You're not mad that I didn't wait for you?" She whispered.

"No," He said immediately. "I left you. I wanted more for you than I was able to give and . . . you didn't want to be a vampire." He remembered the day so long ago when Damon force fed her his blood and Stefan took her to the waterfall.

"Everything's falling apart," The floodgates burst and her head dropped in shame.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You were gone and . . . Jenna and John were dead. Ric moved in and took emergency custody of Jer and me and things were fine for awhile. We were trying to find you and we finished school. Then Damon and Caroline left and me and Bonnie started college. I met Phillip freshman year when I sprained my ankle on campus. He was my doctor. He's six years older than me. We got married before freshman year was over and two years later I had Millie." She swallowed the pain. "He promised . . ." She gasped. Stefan reached forward and lay his hand on her back. She exhaled painfully. "He promised to protect me. H-He promised to make me happy . . ."

"You're not," He said. "You're not happy. You're not protected. Elena, one of these days he's really going to hurt you. He'll kill you. Do you really want to leave your daughter in that situation?"

Elena heaved, sobbing. "No . . ."

"Leave him. Get yourself and Millie away from him." Stefan said. "Please . . ."

"I'm scared," She sobbed.

"I know," He rubbed her back. "I know you are. I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Stefan?" She sniffled.

"Yes, Elena?" He said.

"The reason he hit so hard last night was because I forgot to clean up our coffee cups from yesterday morning." She exhaled. "H-He accused me of cheating . . ."

Stefan's face hardened. They hadn't done anything – literally – then take a few sips of coffee. "I will get you out of this, Elena. I promise."

"I-"

The door opened downstairs. Stefan perked his ears. Elena's eyes widened in fear. Her body tensed. Stefan heard humming . . . . it was a woman.

"Oh god . . ." Elena whispered. "It's him, isn't it?"

Stefan shook his head. The humming voice continued.

"Elena?" It was . . . Bonnie? Since when did Bonnie hum?

"Bonnie." Stefan mouthed.

"She can't see me like this," Elena shook her head.

"Elena, you need to talk to someone other than me," Stefan said. "You can't keep this hidden."

"Elena?" Bonnie called out again. "You home?"

"She can help you," Stefan said. "Your pain."

Elena sighed, nodding. "I can't yell anymore."

Stefan nodded, gently rubbing her back. He sped out of the room to find Bonnie. He appeared behind her and covered her mouth. "Bonnie . . . don't scream. It's Stefan." She nodded. "Please, don't scream." He lifted his hand and she turned around. Her eyes were wide. "It's okay. I won't hurt you." He then noticed her rounded belly. "Either of you. I need you to stay calm."

"Where's Elena?" Bonnie said.

"Upstairs," He said. "We need to talk." He turned and started walking upstairs. Bonnie reached out and touched his shoulder, letting out a strained gasp. He knew that she just saw everything he'd done in the last nine years. "I told you . . . I won't hurt you." He didn't turn around and continued upstairs to Elena. Bonnie followed.

Before they walked in Stefan stopped and turned around. "You're not going to recognize her. And . . . don't let her talk you out of the truth."

Bonnie gulped, nodding. "Did you do something to her?"

"Never," Stefan shook his head.

They stepped into the bathroom where Elena was still soaking, still crying.

"B-Bonnie . . ." Elena looked down in shame.

"Oh my god . . ." Bonnie gasped. "Elena . . ."

"It was her husband," Stefan spoke, knowing Elena would fall apart if she had to talk about it again. "And it's not the first time." Bonnie's hand was still on her mouth. Stefan bent down next to Elena. "Elena, I'm going to go talk to Bonnie. We'll be just down the hall, okay?"

Elena nodded, laying back into the tub with her eyes closed. Stefan and Bonnie left the room and walked down the hall. They went into what appeared to be a guest bedroom. Bonnie wrapped her arms around her rounded belly and sat down on the bed. Stefan stayed standing.

After a few moments, Bonnie spoke. "You killed Klaus."

"I did," Stefan nodded.

"And that's why you're back," Bonnie said.

"It's one of the reasons," He told her.

Bonnie held her womb protectively, "You killed people. Innocent people. Hundreds of innocent people."

Stefan sighed, "Yes."

"And you expect me to believe you're not here to kill all of us?" Bonnie was still holding her stomach.

"I assume you saw everything when you touched my shoulder downstairs," Stefan said.

"I did," Bonnie nodded. "Doesn't mean I believe it."

"Whether you believe me or not . . . . we have to help Elena," Stefan said. "She needs to get away from him."

"I agree," Bonnie told him. "If I had known about it, she would already be out of it. You know that."

"I do . . . and I'm not blaming you or Elena or anyone but this Phillip guy," Stefan scowled. "I haven't met him and I already don't like him."

"For the record, I never liked him – Phillip," Bonnie said. "He's an ass. And . . . he's not Elena's type."

"Elena has a type?" Stefan raised his eyebrows.

"You, Matt, her first boyfriend Eric . . . you're all good guys. Phillip . . . isn't," Bonnie explained. She sighed, at a complete loss. "How are we going to get her out of this?"

"I'd like to just snap his neck and make her a widow," Stefan admitted.

"You know, I almost agree with you but we can't do that," Bonnie said.

"She has to leave him," Stefan said. "As soon as possible. Is there any way you can give her a little extra protection in the meantime? If I heal her he'll notice something's up."

"Um . . . yeah," Bonnie nodded. "I'm a little out of practice though. Jer doesn't like me doing magic when I'm pregnant."

"I completely understand and I agree," Stefan said.

"I'll let her soak in the tub for a bit before I do anything," Bonnie sighed. "Just how bad is it?"

"Honestly, it's amazing she isn't unconscious right now." Stefan told her. "I don't think she'll survive much more of this."

Bonnie scowled. "I always felt that something was off with the way Elena would act around Phillip when she thought no one was looking."

"She's terrified of him," Stefan sighed. "Just before when she thought you were him coming home early her entire body language shifted. She was trembling."

"It's so weird to think of Elena being afraid," Bonnie said. "She's never been afraid of anything."

"She'll get through this," Stefan said. "I'm back and I don't intend to leave her again. Ever."

"No . . ." Elena's voice echoed down the hall. "No . . . Phillip, please . . . I won't do it again . . ." She screamed.

Stefan sped down the hall to the bathroom. Elena was asleep, her head thrashing from side to side. Water splashed out of the tub. Stefan knelt at her side, his hand on her back.

"Elena . . ." He said.

"Phillip, I'm sorry . . . please, no . . . it hurts . . .you're hurting me . . ." She sobbed in her sleep.

"Elena!" Stefan shook her. Her eyes flew open wide and she let out a gasp. "It's okay." He gently rubbed her shoulder. "It was just a nightmare . . . you're okay. I'm here."

Bonnie – out of breath – appeared in the doorway. "What happened?"

"It was just a nightmare," He told her. Bonnie nodded. Elena stared back and forth between them.

"Elena, honey, why don't we get you out of this tub and into bed?" Bonnie said.

Sleepily, Elena nodded. Her eyelids were getting heavy.

"I'll get her out," Steafn said. "Why don't you find her some clothes to put on and we'll be there in a minute?"

Cautiously, Bonnie nodded. With arms around her stomach she went across the hall to Elena's room.

Stefan grabbed a plush white towel from the rack and stood. Elena had fallen asleep again. "Elena . . ." Stefan said. She shook awake.

"S-Stefan . . ." She sighed. "You have to help me find my curling iron . . ."

"Why do you need your curling iron?" Stefan decided to go along with her conversation. He hooked his arms under her arms, remembering after the 60's dance when he'd had to pull a grieving Elena away from Bonnie's seemingly dead body. He pulled her to her feet.

"I-I need to curl my h-hair . . ." Elena mumbled.

"You hate curly hair," He told her as he wrapped the towel around her. "It reminds you too much of Katherine."

"He likes it . . ." Elena's voice was pained.

His entire body tensed and the rage he felt threatened to take over. The monster inside of Stefan, the animal he'd been for the last nine years wanted to immediately search out this bastard who dared hurt his Elena and rip him apart, limb by bloody limb. But the pain and fear in Elena's eyes, the way she clung to him like she would fall into oblivion if she let go . . . it calmed him down. The throb in his gums settled and his body relaxed. "I would never make you curl your hair," Stefan sighed. He lifted her out of the tub and set her standing on the shag rug. "In fact, I prefer your hair straight."

She leaned against him and let out a strangled cry, "I miss you, Stefan, Why did you have to leave me? Why won't you come home to me?"

Stefan froze. She thought she was still asleep. "Elena, I'm really here. You're not dreaming."

Her eyes widened and she just stared at him. Her breathing became heavy and her knees buckled.

"Whoa . . ." Stefan reached out his arms and held her waist to keep her from falling. "Let's get you back to bed." Elena just nodded, her hands gripping his biceps desperately. "Just hold on to me, Elena. I won't let you go." He bent over, one arm behind her knees and the other tightened around her waist. He lifted her, careful not to jostle the towel or hurt her, and carried her out of the bathroom.

She was asleep again before they reached the middle of the hallway.

_ To Be Continued . . . _


	3. Chapter 2:  Sweet Dreams Aren't Made of These

Twenty minutes later Bonnie and Stefan managed to get her dressed in a pair of sweats and a tank top, under the covers, and tucked in asleep.

Bonnie settled on the floor, her legs crossed as much as she could in a circle of candles found around the house. She lit them using her magic.

Stefan stood in the corner, his arms crossed. Bonnie's eyes were closed. She started chanting under her breath in another language. He noticed that on the bed Elena was tossing and turning in her sleep.

Stefan glanced at Bonnie. The witch's face scrunched and blood started running down her nose. "Bonnie . . ."

Bonnie stopped chanting and opened her eyes, panting. "My magic is draining . . . I think it's the baby . . ."

Stefan knelt in front of her. "Use me. Use my strength."

Bonnie nodded. She held onto the inside of his arms and he did the same to her . . . much like when Lucy had convinced Bonnie to give her the moonstone at the masquerade ball.

Stefan felt the energy drain from his body and flow through Bonnie as she closed her eyes and began to chance once again. The flames of the candles frew, flickering in sync with Bonnie's heartbeat. She continued to chant. He heard Elena's heartbeat calm down considerably from the panicked pain it had been.

Bonnie stopped chanting and her eyes flew open. She let go of Stefan's arms. She let out a few deep breaths and sighed. Stefan inhaled, hiding his weaknesses from the witch. "I did the best I could . . . magic's not as easy on me as it used to be. I think I got rid of most of her pain and anything that could cause permanent damage."

"Is there any way for us to get her and Millie out of the house tonight?" Stefan asked.

"Um . . . not really," Bonnie said. "Phillip likes it when she's home at night and Millie has school in the morning. Elena never lets her go anywhere on a school night. Phillip'll notice if she breaks her own rule."

"Damnit . . ." Stefan growled. Elena stirred but went back to sleep. "Why don't we let her sleep?" Bonnie nodded and he helped her to her feet. Stefan put the candles back where he'd found them and the two returned to the guest room down the hall.

While Bonnie was seated on the bed, Stefan paced back and forth.

"What time does he get home?" Stefan asked, still pacing.

"Um . . . I think it's different everyday but hmm . . . usually around eight at night?" Bonnie guessed. "But Elena always picks Millie up from school at 2:30."

Stefan nodded. "We need to make a plan to get her out of here. As soon as we can."

"I agree," Bonnie said. "I think Damon and Caroline could be a big help."

Stefan shook his head. "No. Damon's too unpredictable and Caroline's too protective. We need to be smart about this. We'll call them when it's over with." Stefan sighed. "Does Phillip ever go on business trips or out of town for days at a time."

"Um . . . I think so but I don't know when he's going next," Bonnie said.

"We need to find that out," Stefan said. "In the meantime I want you to help Elena sign the Boarding House over to you for now but tell Phillip she sold it to some random stranger. That way he won't bring anyone over there anymore. Then we'll have a temporary place to hide Elena and Millie."

"We'll do that tomorrow but it'll take a few days to go through," Bonnie nodded. "We were supposed to go out for lunch anyway."

"Good," Stefan said. "I'll watch the house tonight and if he gets too out of hand I'll intervene."

Bonnie looked at her watch. "It's noon now . . . I have to go run some errands quick but I'll pick Millie up at 2:30 and drop her off."

"I'll stay with Elena, make sure everything is cleaned up." Stefan helped Bonnie stand.

"Just make sure you're gone before Phillip gets home. Really you should be gone before Millie gets here so Millie doesn't blab that Mommy had a male friend over." Bonnie said.

Stefan nodded, sighing. "He's already accused her of cheating."

"Bastard," Bonnie cursed. She started out the door.

"Bonnie?" Stefan called after her.

She stopped. "Yes, Stefan?"

"I shouldn't have left . . ." He sighed.

"Don't let it happen again," Bonnie simply said before leaving.

Stefan made his way back down to Elena's room. She was still asleep. The bruises on her face had faded slightly with Bonnie's spell. Her wet hair lay straight on the pillow perfectly framing her oval face. Her olive skin was dry but marred by an occasional spot tinged with blue or purple.

He sat down on the bed beside her and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. She relaxed, her heartbeat calming.

Stefan used his vampire abilities to try to go into her dreams. He found it disappointing that she didn't have vervain in her system or anywhere on her. He'd have to fix that later. He found that she was dreaming about the morning they spent together when he'd awoken to find her staring at him. He replaced his 'dream self' and suddenly it was nine years in the past . . .

He smiled, his eyes still closed as he felt her eyes on him. "You're staring."

He felt her smile and shift closer to him, "I'm gazing."

"It's creepy," He told her – but he just wished they'd spent more mornings like this than they had.

"It's romantic," She countered, her voice slightly husky. Stefan felt his body react to her voice just as it had when they'd had this morning together.

He took a deep breath, still smiling, and pulled the ridiculously-printed pillow over his head.

"Hey!" She giggled, pushing the pillow and covering his lips with her own. It immediately sent shocks through his body. He hadn't kissed her in nearly a decade . . . Changing the memory he wrapped his arms around her waist and flipped them so she was staring up at him. Her lips were slightly parted as he straddled her under the blanket. With the sudden change to the memory, Elena's eyes opened wide and she stared up at him. In her eyes he saw the seventeen-year-old Elena fade away and her older self took over. She tensed underneath him.

"Stefan―" She started but he cut her off, caressing the side of her face with his hand.

"Sshh . . ." He leaned down to kiss her.

She struggled beneath him and he instantly moved off her to the side. She sat up, her knees drawn to her chin. "I'm dreaming . . . You're in my dream."

Feeling like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar before dinner, Stefan nodded.

"You're in my dream," She repeated.

"I wanted to help you relax," He told her. "And . . . see if you were wearing or had vervain in your system."

Her face reeked of guilt. "Um . . . sorry?"

"Why don't you use the vervain?" He asked.

"I just . . . there haven't been any vampires here since Damon and Caroline left . . ." Elena wasn't looking at him.

"No . . . just something worse," Stefan mumbled but she heard it anyway. She sighed, wincing.

"I'm sorry . . ." Her eyes blinked with tears.

"Hey, no," He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. "Don't ever apologize for this. It is not your fault. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I make him mad. I say the wrong things when we're with his friends and coworkers. I can't always get Millie to behave. I . . ." She paused, still crying. "I can't please him when we're alone . . ."

"Elena, look at me," He said. She turned her head to look at him, tears streaking her face. "All of that . . . it's his fault. I know you. You do everything you can to make everyone around you happy. You always know the right thing to say. You took care of Jeremy so well." He lifted her chin with the tip of his finger. "And Elena . . " She sniffled. "Never in all my years have I known anyone who could do the things you do to me . . ."

She blushed and for a moment he thought he'd gotten through to her . . . but then she sighed, looking down. His hand dropped. More tears tracked her face. "I'm not the girl you knew back then anymore, Stefan. I'm older and tired and worn out and . . . something inside of me broke when you left." She sniffled. Her cries turned into broken sobs.

"Sshh," Stefan just held her, continually pressing gentle kisses against the back of her head as she cried. After a while when she quieted down, Stefan said. "Bonnie and I talked. We're going to get you and Millie out of this situation. We're not sure how yet . . . but we're working on it."

"He'll never let me go . . ." Elena replied bitterly. Then she looked up. "Stefan . . . you're a vampire. Just compel him."

"I wish it were that simple, Elena," He sighed.

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Klaus's witches did something . . .I'm not even sure," Stefan said.

"Bonnie . . . she can fix it," Elena said.

Stefan just shook his head. "You just focus on taking care of Millie and yourself. Let me worry about your husband."

"What time is it?" Elena said suddenly. "I have to pick Millie up from school."

He could feel her start to wake up but he held her tighter and manipulated the dream to relax her and keep her asleep. "Don't worry about. Bonnie's bringing her home. Just sleep . . . relax . . ."

Even 'dream Elena''s lids were getting heavy.

He held her tight and whispered in her ear. "Relax . . . heal . . ." Outside of the dream he stroked her temple to help relax her. "When you wake up I'll be gone but I'll be watching. Just relax and act normal . . . but don't be afraid of him. The second he raises a hand to you or Millie I'll be there to stop it. Okay?" He knew she was just about asleep so he added quickly. "Tomorrow morning . . . same time I'll be here right here beside you . . ."

A few seconds more and Elena had fallen into a deep sleep. He left the dream, taking a deep breath. Breathing deeply, he grabbed the corner of Elena's nightstand to catch himself before he fell. Sweat dripped down his forehead.

He really shouldn't have let Bonnie take so much of his energy . . .

His breath settling slightly, he set the alarm on Elena's nightstand and left just as Bonnie pulled up with Millie.

* * *

Immediately after leaving Elena he had to go out and hunt . . . no, eat. His body craved blood less and less and wanted food. Meats, cheeses, fruits, chocolate, pasta . . . he couldn't get enough. And after all the energy he'd expired that day – between helping Bonnie with her spell and going into Elena's dream – he needed lots of food.

Whatever Klaus's witches had done to him . . . it was affecting him fast. He didn't think they'd intended to do that but whatever it was seemed to be permanent. Lucy – Bonnie's cousin and Stefan's ally the last five years – hadn't been able to reverse it.

Both he and Lucy came to the conclusion that he seemed to be reverting back into a human. His ability to compel was completely gone, going into dreams took mass amounts of energy and his heightened senses were dulling.

He pulled his rental car into the nearest fast food restaurant drive thru and proceeded to order two of everything off the menu.

Thank god for all the money he'd collected over a century and a half.

When he finished most of the food he returned to Elena's house to keep an eye on things. Elena and Millie were in the backyard. Elena pushed Millie on a very expensive-looking swing set. Millie was smiling, giggling. Elena was smiling too . . . but he could see the pain in her eyes. She caught sight of him in his car, locking eyes with his. She visibly relaxed, sending a smile straight at him. He nodded, smiling back at her.

Despite her pain and injuries, Elena seemed to be in good spirits around Millie. When it started to get dark, the two went in the house. He listened as they conversed:

"You hungry, kiddo? Want a quick snack before I make dinner?" Elena asked the girl.

"Ya," Millie said.

Stefan heard the sound of the fridge opening and someone – Elena – moving things around.

"Mommy, can I have pudding?" Millie asked.

"Sure," Elena said. The fridge closed. "Chocolate or vanilla?"

"Chocolate," Millie answered.

"Good choice," Elena chuckled.

This Elena, right now, laughing, reminded Stefan of the Elena he'd gotten to know all those years ago. He knew that she probably didn't have many chances to relax enough to laugh in her life anymore.

For a while the two were quiet as Stefan assumed Millie ate her pudding and Elena made dinner. All he heard were the two breathing, the sound of a spoon hitting plastic, the sizzle of something on the stove.

About an hour later a nice expensive car came into view down the room. When it got closer and Stefan could see a face he recognized Phillip from the pictures in the house.

Ducking down out of view, Stefan listened closely. He heard Phillip pull into the driveway, shut off the car, and go into the house.

He couldn't help but notice how Elena's heartbeat had sped up in what was no doubt fear.

Stefan sat up and perked his ears, listening closely and watching diligently through the windows. Elena came into view in the kitchen window and he could see the fear she was hiding. He heard Phillip greet Millie kindly as the girl giggled in excitement. Elena's heartbeat sped up more.

"Daddy, you're home!" Millie giggled.

"I sure am, sugar bean," Phillip said. Stefan heard Millie laugh as her father tickled her. It wasn't long before he stopped. Stefan could still see Elena through the window, a sad expression on her face. "Millie sweetie, why don't you go upstairs and start getting ready for bed while I talk to Mommy, okay?"

"Okay Daddy," Millie said. "Will you tuck me in?"

"Sorry babe, Daddy has to go back to work," Phillip said. Stefan could tell he was lying.

"Awww . . ." Millie whined.

"Mommy'll be up in a minute," Elena's voice was shaky. "Now go on, kiddo."

Stefan heard Millie run up the stairs. Elena's heart was beating so fast Stefan thought it would burst out of her chest. She was obviously afraid of being alone with her husband.

"Y-You're going back to work?" Elena said. Stefan hated how afraid she was.

"I am," Phillip sighed. It sounded like he was annoyed with Elena . . . but she hadn't done anything. "Don't start this again."

"N-No, I'm not. I just . . ." Elena stumbled over her words. "Millie really likes it when you tuck her in and read her a story."

Phillip stepped next to Elena in Stefan's view of the window, his face angry. "Look, I . . ." Phillip sighed, his fist clenched at his side. Stefan tensed, ready to intervene. Elena flinched, obviously ready for an incoming hit. Stefan started to reach for the car door, ready to use what was left of his enhanced speed to punch the asshole out.

"Mommy!" Millie's voice sounded loudly. "I got toothpaste all over!"

Phillip's hand unclenched, shaking his head. He stepped back away from Elena. Stefan let go of the car door handle. Stefan could see Phillip pick up his briefcase. "I have to go. Millie needs to go to bed. You really shouldn't let her stay up so late."

"I'm . . . I'm sorry, Phillip. I guess I lost track of time," Elena mumbled, looking down on the floor.

"Don't let it happen again," Phillip picked up his coat and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter beside Elena. He turned away from Elena and walked out of view. But only moments later he appeared again, right in front of Elena.

Before Stefan could even register what happened, Phillip raised his hand. Stefan's hand went back to the car door and used his speed to race inside –

. . . but he tripped on the bottom front porch step and landed flat on his face.

His ears picked up a loud smacking noise and a cry. Stefan moved to rise to his feet but fell again, tripping on the front mat.

"And teach that daughter of yours how not to make a mess. Not that you're capable of that either . . ."

Stefan scrambled off the porch and around the house as fast as he could. Not seconds after he was hidden, the front door opened and Phillip stormed out. Stefan watched as Elena's husband got in his car and took off. Scrambling to his feet he ran as fast as his body allowed him inside.

Elena was sprawled on the floor against the wooden cupboards, an angry red welt fast forming on the side of her face. Tears streaked her face and her bottom lip was trembling. Stefan knelt down beside her and pulled her into his arms.

"You're okay, it's okay. He's gone," Stefan whispered in her ear.

Elena took a deep breath, heaving. She pushed out of his embrace. "Y-You didn't stop him."

"I'm sorry, Elena . . . I, well . .. I tripped." Stefan helped her to her feet, standing himself. Elena just stared at him, tears dripping off her nose and lips. "It's a long story. I'm so sorry . . ."

Elena stood a few feet away from him, holding on to the counter. Her hand was on her head as if to steady herself. She took a few deep breaths. "I have to get Millie to bed. She's already up later than she's supposed to. A-And she made a mess in the bathroom . . ."

"Let me help you," Stefan pressed. He reached out, certain she would fall any moment.

Elena shook her head, holding out her hand as if to push him away. "N-No . . . Millie can't know about you. She'll tell Phillip and . . ."

Stefan nodded. He understood. "Go on . . . I'll wait for you down here."

He watched her go up the stairs to make sure she didn't fall or trip. When she disappeared around the corner at the top of the stairs he went into the living room and collapsed on the couch. He breathed deeply, rubbing his knee where it had collided with the wooden steps outside.

He listened as Elena sung a lullaby to Millie. He'd never heard such a sweet or caring voice since the nights his mother had sung lullabies to him.

Twenty minutes later when Elena came down the bruise on her cheek had deepened into a dark purple. She sat down on the recliner across from him, holding up an ice pack. She gently set it on her bruise.

With a pained voice, she spoke: "Tell me what the hell is going on with you. Tell me why you can't compel. Tell me how you killed Klaus and why isn't Katherine dead too."

Stefan took a deep breath. It was time to come clean about the last nine years so they could move on and fix the present.

_ To Be Continued . . . _


	4. Chapter 3: Tick Tick Boom

With a pained voice, she spoke: "Tell me what the hell is going on with you. Tell me why you can't compel. Tell me how you killed Klaus and why isn't Katherine dead too."

Stefan took a deep breath. It was time to come clean about the last nine years so they could move on and fix the present.

"You made me tell you about Phillip . . . now tell me what was so important that you had to leave me." Elena's voice trembled.

And so . . . Stefan began. "Klaus wouldn't give me the cure to heal Damon unless I promised him ten years."

"But it's only been nine," Elena said. Her eyes narrowed and suddenly her entire body tensed. "Wait, are you here to . . ."

"The last three I've been trying to find a way to kill him," He told her. Her tension eased slightly and her shoulders relaxed. "While separated from him in Rio I ran into Lucy – Bonnie's cousin. I tried to kill her." He searched Elena's face expecting to find anger or fear or disappointment. All he saw was sadness though and that unsettled him even more. "She stopped me, knocked me out. When I woke up she had me bound in a circle of fire. She told me we were going to work together to take Klaus and his witches down for good and she did something to help with the blood lust. Brought me back to my senses. We've been searching for a way to kill him ever since."

"How did you do it?" Elena asked.

"Lucy found and did a spell a few months ago to weaken him and then I killed him," Stefan left it at that. She didn't need to know all the gory details. "But his witches . . . afterwards before Lucy could kill them they did something to me, some sort of spell. Lucy did kill them, but between taking out Klaus and that it nearly killed her. She wasn't strong enough to reverse the witches' spell. All she could tell me was that it would most likely be permanent. By the next morning, she was dead."

"Like Bonnie's grandmother," Elena said. Stefan nodded. "And the spell . . ."

"It's draining my vampire abilities," Stefan told her.

"You mean . . ." Elena's eyes widened.

"I'm slowly turning back into a human," Stefan sighed.

"But that's a good thing, right?" She said.

"I'm not sure what it means," Stefan shrugged. She adjusted the ice pack on her face, wincing. "Does it still hurt?"

Elena shrugged. "A little. I'll be okay."

Stefan studied her. Why did she seem so used to being hurt like this? "Elena, how long has Phillip been hurting you?"

Elena tensed, gulping. "What does it matter?"

"I just would like to know," Stefan pressed, but not too much to make her angry or uncomfortable.

Elena paused, setting the ice pack down on the coffee table next to her. A few more breaths and she let out a few breaths. "Um . . ." He continued to watch her, looking for signs of extreme distress. "Um . . . it started about a month after we married . . ." Her whole body froze, becoming tense – frigid, even. Her heartbeat quickened and he could smell the fear coming off of her in waves.

He decided she wasn't comfortable talking about this and it wouldn't do any good to bring it up before she was ready. "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to keep going. It's okay."

She paused again, breathing in and out deeply. His gaze never left her, watching her like she was a ticking time bomb. After a while she nodded, letting out a deep breath. "Y-Yeah . . . it's late. I should probably get some sleep."

Stefan nodded. "Tomorrow while you're out at lunch with Bonnie she's going to take you to sign over the Boarding House." Elena gave him a confused look. "She'll explain."

Elena stood and he noticed her cringe with pain. He hated this, hated it when she hurt and especially hated it when there was nothing he could do about it.

He blinked, finding her staring at him with a strange look on her face. "Stefan?"

He focused on her, rubbing his eyes. "What? Sorry . . . I was thinking about something."

She sighed, not even seeming to notice. "Will you stay close . . . in case he comes back?"

"Of course," He nodded.

She walked over to the key plate next to the door and walked back by him. She held out her hand, a silver key resting in her palm.

He looked up, searching her eyes for hesitation. "Are you sure?" He knew her sense of trusting others was probably severely damaged.

"I'm sure," She nodded. Her eyes didn't show any signs of hesitation or uncertainty. She let out a deep breath as he picked up the key and their skin made contact. He heard her heartbeat quicken but not with fear or panic. It was the way it used to beat when they'd first met. Her eyes found his and locked them in her gaze. "I trust you with my life, Stefan. And . . . and I need you.”

He nodded, gulping. "I'll always be here for you. I won't ever leave you again."

He saw something in her eyes that he hadn't for a long time . . . hope.

A deep cough echoed from upstairs and their locked eyes blinked. Elena cleared her throat, her heart still beating rapidly.

"Is that Millie?" Stefan asked.

Elena nodded. "She gets this cough in the middle of the night every once in a while. She has since she was a baby. The doctors say it's normal . . . but sometimes it gets so bad she can barely breathe. She has medicine and an inhaler . . . it helps." She stood, starting to head upstairs to her ailing child.

He wanted to call after her or follow her, tell her he loved her and hold her in his arms and kiss her neck and make all her pain go away. Instead, he let her walk away.

He was gone before she came back down.

* * *

A man and a woman walked arm in arm into the jewelry store, their hands intertwined. All eyes fell on the young, beautiful couple with stars in their eyes.

A young male sales associate eyed their lovey-dovey smiles and expensive clothing and jewelry and was immediately on them. "Good morning, sir . . . madam. Can I help you with anything in particular?"

"Yes," The man smiled a charming smile. He lifted his companion's hand and kissed her knuckles. She smiled, giggling. "I need something as beautiful and priceless as my lady is for her because she has finally agreed to by my wife."

"Ah," The young sales associate nodded, "You're looking for engagement rings."

"I want something sparkly and expensive!" The young lady giggled, staring into her older fiance's eyes.

"Anything you want," The man kissed his fiancé lightly on the lips.

"Well, is there a certain cut or stone that you'd be interested in?" The sales associate asked them.

The man leaned over, whispering, "You know, actually, we were looking for Sparky."

The young sales associate's eyes widened, "Oh . . . of course. Those rings are in the back. I will take you there myself."

The young couple nodded and the sales associate led and left them in the back room – which was basically a large storage closet.

Once the associate was gone, the blonde 'bride-to-be' sighed, dropping her smile. "So who is this Sparky guy again?"

Her 'fiancé' rolled his eyes, "I told you. He's a drug dealer that apparently ran into Stefan and Klaus a few years ago."

"Oh," the blonde nodded.

A few moments later, a small man with a large, banged up briefcase appeared from behind a hidden door. He was a tiny man with no muscle mass and pale, dirty looking skin. His eyes were bloodshot and there were heavy dark circles under them. "You two lookin' for Sparky?"

"We are," The man let go of the blonde's hand and stepped forward.

"You know my name . . . and yet I don't know yours," The tiny man, Sparky, eyed them – especially the girl. "I'd definitely remember meeting a fine lady like yourself."

"Damon," The man spoke and his lip curled into a smirk. "And . . . Caroline."

"So . . . what'cha lookin' for, Damon? X, special k, coke? What's your preference?" Sparky set the briefcase on a table and started unlocking it.

"Actually . . ." Damon pulled an 8x10 photo from his pocket. "We're looking for these two." In the photo was a blurred version of Klaus and Stefan. "We heard you had a run in with these two a couple years ago."

Sparky sighed, "You know, I've been having a real problem sellin' lately. Yeah, my money problems make my memory real foggy."

Caroline rolled her eyes as Damon pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. He peeled a fifty dollar bill from the wad and waved it in front of Sparky's eyes. "Did you see them or not?" Caroline said.

"Aw, baby . . . my memory don't unfog up for less than five hundred . . ." He winked. "Unless your puttin' yourself on the table . . ."

Caroline glanced at Damon who nodded. She turned back to Sparky and sweetly smiled. Her arm shot out at inhuman speed and she lunged forward – pinning Sparky to the wall. "Look, Sparky, you're going to tell us when and where you ran into these men in the photo. Then, you're going to tell us everything you heard and saw them do. Got it?"

"C'mon, crazy lady, chill . . . I got somethin' that'll calm ya down real good . . ." Sparky smirked. Caroline all but growled.

Damon chuckled, "I'd listen to her . . . she's not as sweet as she looks. She'll rip you apart before you have time to blink." Caroline tightened her hold on the drug dealer's neck and the tiny man gulped. "Now . . . you have two options. Tell us and we'll kill you fast or . . . tell us and we'll kill you painfully slow. What's it gonna be?"

"I'm . . . I'm n-not afraid of you," Sparky choked.

"Oh yeah," Caroline growled, her eyes reddening and her fangs showed.

"Aaahhh!" Sparky screamed, his eyes wide. "What the . . . what are you?"

"Tell us where and when you saw these two!" Caroline growled, snatching the photo from Damon and waving it in Sparky's face. "Tell us!"

"Okay, okay, okay!" Sparky gasped, his eyes still wide. "P-Please don't kill me . . . I'll d-do whatever you want!"

"We want you to tell us where and when you saw these two and what did they say?" Damon repeated. Caroline squeezed his neck more.

"G-G-Georgia!" Sparky screamed, panting. "Atlanta . . . t-two and half y-years ago! Behind a b-bar call S-S-Skully's!"

"Caroline, let him go," Damon sighed. "He's not going anywhere."

Caroline just rolled her eyes, the redness and fangs disappearing. She released Sparky from her hold and stepped back. The drug dealer coughed, holding his throat.

"What were the two men doing?" Damon asked.

"Um . . ." Sparky coughed. "There was a girl."

"They attacked her?" Damon said.

Sparky nodded, "Hot chick . . . but what a bitch!"

"Really," Caroline said. "What did this 'hot chick' look like?"

"Yeah," Sparky nodded, "Long, curly dark brown hair. Legs that never ended, dark almost olive skin. Flirty little thing. She was real friendly with one of the guys you're looking for." Caroline held up the picture and Sparky pointed to Stefan. "Yeah, that was the guy she seemed to like. She was all over him. Seemed afraid of the other one though."

"You happen to catch a name for this flirty little brunette?" Damon sighed.

"Um . . . something. Hmm . . . I can't really remember but . . . I think it started with a C or a K or something . . ."

Caroline groaned, annoyed, and Damon rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, Katherine right?" Damon said.

Sparky nodded, "Yeah, that was it!"

"What were they doing with her?" Damon said.

"Well at first it was just her and the guy she was flirtin' with," Sparky said. "Then the other guy showed up outta nowhere and knocked the bitch out."

"And while all of this was going on you were . . ." Damon trailed off.

"Hidin' behind some old mattresses," Spark said. "This was about two blocks from the cemetery. The other guy knocked her out like gravity was nothin' and the first guy picked her up and they dumped her in a car."

"Where'd they take her?" Caroline asked.

Sparky shrugged, "Dunno . . . but they was headed to the direction where the cemetery was."

Damon and Caroline glanced at each other, both of them sighing. Damon turned back to the drug dealer. "Anything else?"

Sparky shook his head, "Told ya everything."

"If you're lying we'll know about it," Damon threatened.

"I swear," Sparky nodded. "That's everything. C-Can I go now?"

Before Sparky even knew what was happening, Damon lashed out and snapped his neck. The washed-up drug dealer's body flopped to the floor. Caroline didn't even flinch, just sighed and leaned into Damon's shoulder.

She yawned, "Drug dealers are so annoying. Can't even get a taste 'cause they taste awful."

Damon wrapped his arms around her as they walked out the back door into the alley behind the jewelry store. "Should we go find a frat party before we head to Atlanta, babe?"

Caroline licked her lips, nodding. She bent back her head and Damon leaned down to kiss her passionately. "Mmm . . . I can still taste that stupid hitchhiker. And . . . other things." She giggled, kissing him again.

They continued to kiss as they set off to find the nearest college campus.

* * *

The next five days while Phillip was off in California on a business trip – at least that's where his secretary told them he was – Bonnie and Stefan formulated a plan to get Elena and Millie away from him.

Bonnie was helping Elena heal and get ready to leave her house. Stefan was cleaning up and making changes at the Boarding House for Elena and her daughter to stay temporarily.

They were also working on finding evidence for the court to grant a restraining order and domestic abuse charges on Phillip. However, since Bonnie's spells and organic remedies had healed all of Elena's physical wounds they didn't really have proof. There were no witnesses but Stefan and since he'd been technically dead for over a hundred years he couldn't exactly stand up and testify in a courtroom to testify.

Stefan's vampirism continued to fade – his enhanced speed and ability to heal himself and others were now completely gone. It was a hard adjustment but he ignored the muscle aches, lack of strength and agility, and almost constantly needed to sleep. There were other things to worry about and he certainly didn't want to add another thing for Elena to have to worry about. He needed her to focus on taking care of Millie and herself and finding the strength to leave her husband.

On this day Stefan was working on a room for Millie in the Boarding House. He wanted the room to make Millie feel safe and loved. Of course, he hadn't officially met Millie yet. Elena and even Stefan himself was worried that Millie would somehow hint to Phillip tat Stefan was back in town.

Stefan had just finished setting up the small twin bed and was trying to decide between which sheet set to use – Disney princesses or multi-colored butterflies. He held the two boxes up, staring back and forth between them.

"The butterflies."

Stefan jumped, turning to the door. Elena stood in the entryway, a mug of tea in her hands. She wore a pair of blue jeans, a simple white peasant blouse, and black flats.

She smirked, taking a drink. "Jumpy today?"

He sighed, his lip curling, "Still getting used to this whole lack-of-abilities-I've-had-forever thing."

Elena nodded, setting her mug down on a small table. "Were you jumpy the first time around?"

Stefan shook his head. "Not really. I mean, not more than any average teenager. I'm just not used to it right now. Technically I was a vampire longer than I was alive." He cleared his throat. "How are you doing? Any pain?"

"Not really," Elena shrugged. "Whatever Bonnie's doing is helping. I don't think I've felt this good in years."

A somber moment fell between them as they both thought of the source of Elena's constant pain.

Stefan set down the package of princess sheets and started opening butterfly ones. Halfway through he stopped, letting the half-opened sheets fall the few inches to the bed. His voice was full of emotion as he whispered her name. "Elena?"

Elena had been sifting through the children's books on the shelf that Stefan had bought for Millie. She sensed the shift in his voice and she felt a lump of emotion jump up in her throat. "Yes?" She croaked, her throat suddenly dry.

"I know I've said it a lot this last week and I'll probably say it again but . . . I am so sorry for leaving you. If I hadn't left . . ." He trailed off.

She swallowed, trying to will the emotion that was building to go away. Despite that, her voice was strong. "Then . . . Then your brother would have died and you would never have been able to live with yourself. You know that . . . you love your brother, Stefan."

He sighed, nodding, but . . . "If I hadn't left you wouldn't have been hurt so much . . ." A dull, aching pain clenched at her heart. He sunk down to the bed, his head between his knees. "I think about how long I was gone, all those hours and months and years I left you alone . . . " A tear gathered in the corner of his eye. "I can't stop thinking about it and I can't turn the emotion off any more . . . I can't push it away . . ." His breath came out shallow as if his guilt was literally cutting off his air supply.

Elena swallowed again, feeling her tears swell too. "It's okay . . ."

"No," He shook his head, wiping furiously at his eyes. "I left and you were alone and vulnerable and being hurt and . . ." He choked on his grief and guilt. "How can you even look at me?"

She dropped the book she'd been holding and crossed the room quickly. She knelt down on the floor beside him, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. Tears tracked down her face. "I'm okay, Stefan. I am okay and I have never blamed you for anything." She lifted his head. "I don't blame you at all, Stefan. It was Klaus that took you away from me. He's the one to blame and you killed him so we don't have anything to worry about. Okay."

He nodded, sniffling.

"In all these years the only thing I felt for you was love. I missed you, I worried about you, I wished you could be with me but I never blamed you." Elena told him. "Never, not once."

He cleared his throat, wiping his face. "I'm sorry . . . I'm―I guess I'm having a hard time getting used to my human emotions." He chuckled, sniffling again.

She nodded. "It's okay." She remembered when she'd been pregnant with Millie and her emotions and hormones had been all over the place. However, thinking about that brought up other memories . . . painful ones. She looked around the room, trying to find something – anything – to change the subject. "The room's really looking great." She sat up on the bed a few inches away from him.

"I just want her to like it and feel safe here." Stefan shrugged, running his hands through his hair. He looked up. "I want you to feel safe."

"With you I always do." Her voice was quiet.

With his enhanced hearing fading he barely heard it but he managed to get every word. The moment hung in the air as she scooted closer to him. Memories of the past and current emotions were running high and the two of them were breathing heavily. Elena continued to lean closer to him, their eyes locking in place. Stefan felt his hand rise to meet just above her ear. He let the silk of her grown-out bangs run through his fingers and she inhaled when his skin brushed the side of her face.

He leaned his head forward, closer to hers, so that they were only inches apart. Their gaze on each other broke and Stefan found that eyes were now focused on his lips. Their breath quickened and the emotions between them grew intensely. Their lips were now only a few centimeters apart and Stefan could feel her warm breath. Elena sighed contently and Stefan was about to lean in to eliminate any space between them –

―then with a blinding pain and the distant sound of Elena screaming everything went black . . .

* * *

"Momma, more Wiggles!" Three-year-old Grayson Jack Gilbert – though he was just called Jack – pointed at the television screen with an angry pout. "More Wiggles! More Wiggles!"

Bonnie sighed, her hand on her always-sore back as she glanced at the screen which was now playing Dora the Explorer. "Honey, the Wiggles are only on for half an hour. They're done for the day."

"More Wiggles!" Jack insisted, his eyes watering.

"What's wrong with Dora? You like Dora," Bonnie said.

"WIGGLES!" Jack shouted, plopping on the floor with a thump. "Jackie want WIGGLES!" Within seconds, the small boy's cries had grown into a full-blown tantrum. He kicked the floor furiously and repeatedly, his arms crossed.

"Jack, that is enough!" Bonnie scolded her son, her voice firm.

Jack froze, startled. His little eyes flooded with tears and his bottom lip quivered. "I sorry Momma . . ."

Bonnie sighed, going over to turn off the television set. She knelt down in front of her son, holding her rounded belly. "It's okay, honey. You just need to learn to be patient, okay?"

Jack nodded, sniffling. "I like Wiggles."

"I know you do, baby." Bonnie chuckled, using her thumb to wipe away the boy's tears. "But the Wiggles aren't on tv all the time. They have families they have to be with and take care of like your daddy takes care of us." Jack nodded. "Would you want Daddy to be gone all the time?"

"No," Jack sniffled.

"Exactly. So while the Wiggles aren't on the tv they're at home with their families."

"Okay Mommy," Jack sighed, sniffling again.

Bonnie nodded, gently holding on to Jack's shoulder for support as she pulled herself up. "Why don't you go up to your room and play for a bit while Mommy makes lunch. Okay, sweetie?" Jack nodded. He stood up and wrapped his little arms around his mother's legs (he was only as tall as Bonnie's knees) and hugged her tight.

"Love you, Mommy," Jackie mumbled into the fabric of his mother's maternity sweats.

Bonnie ruffled his hair, "Love you too, baby boy."

After a few more seconds, Jack's short attention span kicked in and he ran off upstairs. Bonnie lay her hand on her belly, smiling. She could feel the baby moving, kicking his little legs.

The front door lock clicked and then the door opened. Bonnie smiled again, turning around. Jeremy was home for lunch.

"Hey babe," Her husband wrapped his arms around her, laying his hand on her belly and kissing her cheek.

"Hi hon," Bonnie kissed him back. "How's school this morning?"

"Good," Jeremy nodded. "The kids all like the new sculpting technique I taught them and they seem to be picking it up well."

"I knew they'd get it," Bonnie said. "You're always a good teacher."

"How's Jackie and our little man today?" He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on her belly.

"This one was kickin' up a storm but your other son had quite the temper tantrum when the Wiggles were over." Bonnie told him. Jeremy sighed, nodding. They'd always teased the fact that Jack inherited his aunt Elena's stubbornness and occasional tendency to threw a tantrum when she didn't get what she wanted.

"I'll talk to him when I get home later," Jeremy said.

"Thanks, babe," Bonnie said. "I was just about to make lunch. Any suggestions?"

"Hmm . . ." Jeremy said. "How about grilled cheese?"

She nodded, "Mmmm . . . my favorite."

"I know," Jeremy shrugged, kissing her lips.

They were interrupted by the sound of Jeremy's cellphone ringing. They kissed again and Bonnie went into the kitchen to start making lunch for the three of them.

She had only just opened the refrigerator to get out the cheese slices when a worried Jeremy ran into the kitchen. His cell phone was still to his ear. "What's wro―"

"Millie's missing," Jeremy blurted. He was dialing another number on his phone. "The school called and they can't find her and Elena's not answering her phone."

Dread filled Bonnie like a dead weight.

"What if it's Klaus, Bonnie? What if he's back? O-Or Katherine?" Jeremy dialed another number. "Damnit Elena, answer your phone. Why aren't you answering?"

Bonnie shook her head, breathing deeply. She could barely breathe. "N-No, Jeremy . . . Klaus is dead. It's Phillip." She heaved, her heart hammering in her chest. Jeremy's eyes widened. "It's Phillip . . . oh god . . ."

* * *

"Gah! This is useless!" Caroline kicked the hard stone of the mausoleum wall and left a hole the size of her foot. Concrete crumbled to the floor around her. "Five days searching this damn cemetery and we're no closer than we were nine years ago!" She sank to the floor.

"Patience, babe," Damon sighed, moving the stone lid off a coffin and exhaling when he only found the decayed remains of a civil war soldier.

"What if Sparky was lying?" Caroline said.

"Trust me, he wasn't. Don't you remember that mob guy in Reno a few years back? When you're scared out of your mind you tend to tell the truth," Damon reminded her. She nodded, smirking as she thought of the fun they'd had torturing said mob guy in Reno.

"Well, then where is she?" Caroline stood.

"We'll find her eventually," Damon shrugged. "Come on, next mausoleum."

Caroline nodded and the two left the mausoleum. They crossed a few yards to the next one, watching and listening for anyone who could cause trouble for them. Once they'd forced their way inside the next mausoleum – this one for the Webber family – Caroline sighed. "Damon, do you think we should call and check in Mystic Falls again? It's been over a year."

"It's been over two, actually," Damon told her. "We'll call when we have news. No use bringing anyone's hopes up. Besides, they've all got kids to deal with now. They don't need anymore vampire problems."

Sighing, Caroline nodded.

The two began to search the room for any signs of Katherine. They'd thought of looking for her years earlier but they'd heard that Klaus had caught her again so they'd moved on to whatever lead came next. Now she could be the key to everything. Problem was, they just had to find her. It was like finding one specific needle in a pile full of a million needles.

"Hey, what did that cemetery groundskeeper say again?" Damon hefted a stone lid and threw it across the room. "Damnit!" He cursed when he saw that the only corpses inside this coffin was a recently dead old woman and her cat. She hadn't even really decayed much. His lip turned up in disgust at the horrid smell.

"Not much – they must've compelled him," Caroline said. "All he knew was that he couldn't remember what he'd been doing that night that Sparky mentioned. That's it."

Damon shook his head, "You're right, this is useless."

"Told ya," Caroline shrugged.

"Well . . . we don't have much of the cemetery to go. Just a couple mausoleums to check," Damon sighed.

"What if they buried her underground?" Caroline said.

"Way to be positive, blondie," Damon groaned, rolling his eyes.

They resumed their search of the Webber crypt only to come up with nothing – again. Then they moved on to the Gristler, Arnold, and Mrotek buildings. Again, nothing – in any of them. They only had one to go – the Grant building. By this time it was nearing dawn. They had to leave soon before the cemetery staff came in for work.

Damon held open the old, heavy, wooden door as Caroline snuck inside. Then Damon let go of the door and used his vampire speed to run in before the door could close. It slammed shut with a heavy thud, kicking up dust everywhere. Damon and Caroline coughed, waving the dust out of their faces.

"See anything?" Damon said.

Caroline coughed again, brushing off her clothes. "Um . . . no. But do you feel that?"

Damon stilled, honing his senses. "Yeah, I do. There's something in here, that's for sure."

"Could be an animal," Caroline shrugged.

"Or . . ." Damon scanned the room, smirking when his eyes landed on a child's coffin at the other end of the room. None of the other mausoleums had children in them. He crossed the room, careful to look for any surprises – whether it be traps or witches or compelled minion guards. Caroline followed him. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the small, concrete coffin. No amulets or ropes or chains or anything. Just layers upon layers of dust and cobwebs. "This has to be it." Damon raised his hand letting it hover over the concrete lid.

Together Damon and Caroline pushed the lid off toward the wall across from them. The stone slab tipped over the side, falling and shattering on the ground loudly. Caroline inhaled. "We did it – we found her . . ."

Sure enough, crunched in the fetal position in a ball inside the miniature coffin was Katerina Petrova. Her skin was as grey as her stone coffin – but there were no dark lines indicating death. "She's still alive." Damon said out loud. He thought he saw the crouched figure flinch. "She's dessicated . . . looks like it's been about two years. Guess Sparky's story checks out."

"But why didn't Klaus just kill her?" Caroline asked.

"He wanted to punish her for running and becoming a vampire," Damon said. "What better way than to let her live but not able to move or feed or do anything."

"True," Caroline shrugged.

"You still got the blood?" Damon asked. Caroline nodded, reaching into the duffel bag on her shoulder for the bloodbags. This time, Damon knew he saw Katherine flinch. "Here, give me the gloves." Caroline did as he said and Damon put the thick leather gloves on his hands. Then he dug through the duffel bag for the plastic bag. He untied the handles and pulled out the vervain-soaked ropes. "Let's wrap her up and tie her up with the ropes before we give her blood."

"Sounds like a good idea," Caroline nodded. The blond dropped the duffel bag on the ground and reached into the coffin. She picked up the inanimate 500-year-old vampire and set her on the ground. Still crunched up in a ball, Katherine wasn't moving but her dry, cracked lips and closed eyes twitched with desperate hunger. Caroline chuckled, "It's almost too easy. We could just kill her now and not have to deal with her anymore ever again."

"Yeah," Damon agreed, sighing. "But she's kinda our only lead on Stefan. We'll kill her later."

"Okay," Caroline shrugged, straightening the dessicated vampire's body. Damon wrapped and tied the vervain ropes tightly around Katherine. The grey, dessicated skin sizzled, burning. A weak, strained moan pushed between Katherine's cold, dead lips.

"Talk about a wake-up call," Damon smirked. "Just give her a taste, just enough so she can move her face a bit."

Caroline grinned mischievously, pulling the blood bag open. She lifted the elder vampire woman's head and rested the opening of the blood bag against her mouth. "Hello, Katherine." The blood slowly ran down Katherine's throat and soon she sucked greedily. Color started to return to her skin.

"That's enough," Damon shouted. Caroline pulled the bag back. Katherine breathed heavily, opening her eyes. Anger flared from the vampire's brown eyes. "Rise and shine, bitch."

"D-Damon," Katherine croaked, her voice scratchy and unused.

"So . . . stuck back in a tomb," Damon smirked. "You just don't have much luck, do ya?"

"W-What'dya want?" Katherine's skin continued to sizzle.

"Stefan and Klaus," Damon shrugged. "We hear you had a little run in with them. Guess Stefan didn't wanna get back together. And Klaus . . . well, guess you're finally paying your dues."

Katherine's eyes narrowed. She strained against her vervain restraints. "If you know then why are you here?"

"We want to know where they are," Caroline said.

"Yeah, and why the hell did you put yourself in the open? Did you get stupid in the last nine years?" Damon said. Katherine coughed, choking on the dust and decay still in her throat. "Give her more." Caroline nodded, putting the bag back to her lips. Katherine gulped down the other half of the bag in a split second. Caroline threw the empty blood bag on the ground.

Katherine cleared her throat. "Much better. Now . . . can we ditch the ropes? I can't concentrate with all this vervain."

"Guess you'll just have to make do until we have some answers," Damon shrugged. "Now where's Klaus and Stefan?" Damon noticed the confused look on her face. "You know, we could always put you back in the coffin – with the vervain ropes. Then we'll seal up the tomb so you're really down here for awhile." Katherine still looked confused. "Did you lose your mind down here? Where's Klaus and Stefan?"

"You really don't know, do you?" Katherine's eyes narrowed again.

"Know what?" Caroline said.

Katherine scoffed. "Klaus is dead. You've been tracking him and you didn't know?"

"Dead? Wait, what?" Damon said.

"When they left me down here, Klaus compelled me not to move a muscle unless he told me otherwise," Katherine said. "It wore off a while ago – maybe two months or so? . . . but by then I'd been without blood so long I couldn't move anyway."

"So . . . where's Stefan then . . ." Caroline stared at Katherine.

"Beats me," Katherine shrugged. "Probably out killing and continuing his Ripper ways."

"There haven't been any reports of killings in months . . ." Caroline said. "That's why we came looking for you . . . we didn't have any other lead to go on." Damon was just staring out into space, thinking. "Damon, where is he?"

"If there haven't been any killings . . ." Katherine trailed off.

Just then, a cell phone echoed throughout the mausoleum. Caroline pulled her phone out of her pocket, her eyes wide. "It's Bonnie . . . she's calling from the phone we gave her in case of an emergency." Damon and Caroline just stared at each other, both eyes wide and fearful of the worst, both thinking about their friends and their families . . . the kids . . . both thinking of the countless number of Stefan's torn-in-pieces-and-put-back-together victims they'd seen over the years.

"Guess Stefan decided to go home . . ." Katherine smirked.

_ To Be Continued . . . _


	5. Chapter 4: Only the Strongest Will Survive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to mention that last chapter's title (Tick, Tick, Boom) was named after the Castle episodes. The first chapter (Sunk In Biology) is a quote from the book "Still Life" by A.S. Byatt and chapter two (Sweet Dreams Aren't Made Of These) is an offshoot of the song by the Eurythmics. This chapter the title comes from the song "Blow Me Away" by Breaking Benjamin.

The sound of an echoing cellphone pierced Stefan's ears like a two-ton mac truck. He groaned, every inch of his body screaming in unimaginable pain. Cellphone? But he didn't have one on him . . .

Elena . . .

Pushing past the pain, Stefan forced his eyes open. He was met with the sight of his legs dangling up over the side of the toddler twin bed he'd been sitting on. His head ached horribly and he raised his arm behind his head to push the object that was causing his skull so much pain. The object dinged – it was the small toy piano he'd bought for Millie – as his head thunked harshly on the carpeted floor. Pain resonated from the top of his head to down to his toes.

"Urgh . . ."

The noise made him jump and he turned his body – again, ignoring the pain – only to be met with the sight of red. It soaked into white and blue fabric and light purple carpet. God . . . there was so much red . . .

"Ow . . ."

Hearing Elena's cry made it easier to ignore what was wrong with his body. His heart thumped loudly as he groaned, pushing himself into a sitting position on the floor. Breathing heavily, his eyes widened.

Elena was across the room, plastered awkwardly leaning against the wall and on the floor. It was her blood that was everywhere. Her face was swollen, her cheek flowing with more red but surrounded by a dark purple and green bruise. Her lip was split open and both of her eyes were outlined by deep black-tinged skin.

"Oh god . . ." Stefan croaked. He was suddenly aware of a pain and numbness in his jaw. It felt as if his face had collided with a steel wall at a hundred miles per hour. "Elena . . ." Talking was becoming difficult for him and his lungs burned. She was moving – barely – but what scared Stefan the most was the sheer amount of her blood that stained the room.

The cellphone had stopped ringing but that wasn't even Stefan's concern. Who or what had done this to them and why hadn't he been able to hear or sense them in the building?

"Stefan . . ." Elena's voice was hoarse and weak but stronger than his.

Stefan held on to his ribs – god, they hurt so bad he could feel the bones grate – and inched across the floor. She was moaning, tears streaking down her face and mixing with blood. Pain and fear shone in her eyes. As soon as he was close enough, he grabbed hold of her hand and held it tight. Reaching brought horrible pain but he needed to hold her hand, feel her skin, her heartbeat.

His eyes felt heavy as the pain only got worse. Both of Elena's hands were holding his despite the slickness of so much blood.

Wait – why did Stefan have blood on his hands? There hadn't been any on Elena's hands and he hadn't touched any of hers yet . . .

The thought sent a wave of nauseousness and dizziness through him. He squinted as Elena became a blur in front of him. The look on her face was puzzling . . .

As he drifted off into the darkness, a cellphone started ringing again . . .

* * *

Six-year-old Millie Thompson felt yet another stream of tears trickle down the side of her face under the blindfold. She moved her teeth around, trying to move the piece of cloth out of her mouth. The cloth tasted horrible and Millie just wanted the throw up.

She whimpered, sniffling, and a small line of moisture ran down her nose and got closer to her lips.

Something bumped underneath her and she instantly remembered when she'd gone with her mommy and Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Bonnie to the fair in Chicago and they'd gone on a choo-choo train. It was bumpy and loud but fun.

Millie wasn't having any fun right now.

She didn't understand what was going on. She was supposed to be at school. But the strange blonde lady with the funny voice told her that she was friends with her mommy and daddy and they were busy so she was going to watch her for awhile. The lady promised they'd have fun – crayons and cookies and cartoons and candy . . .

But Millie was scared and tired and she couldn't see. Her nose was running and her hands were tied and she just wanted to go home and have her mommy hold her and make Grandma's special hot chocolate with marshmallows.

"Get out of the way, asshole!"

The strange lady was yelling and saying bad words again. Millie's mommy never said bad words. Mommy always said that it was wrong to say those words and Grandma Miranda and Grandpa Grayson and Uncle John and Aunt Jenna and Aunt Isobel would be very disappointed in her as well as Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Ric.

Millie felt her eyes tear up again. Tires screeched and with every sharp turn she felt like she was going to fall over or be thrown to the side.

Millie was really scared . . .

* * *

Caroline answered the call from Bonnie as Damon and Katherine watched her. "Bonnie, what's wrong?"

"Caroline, it's Elena and Millie . . . you have to come back to Mystic Falls!"

Caroline could hear Bonnie's heart but frantically, "Bonnie, calm down!”

"Who the hell is Millie?" Katherine scoffed.

"Elena's daughter," Damon blurted out. "What's going on Caroline? Is it Stefan?"

"Bonnie, you have to tell us what's wrong. Did Stefan come back? Are Elena and Millie okay? Did he attack them?" Caroline questioned her friend

"Yes . . . but no he didn't . . . it's Phillip, Caroline. Millie's missing from school and we can't get a hold of Elena and Stefan."

"Wait, what?" Caroline said.

"There's no time . . . we need you and Damon in Mystic Falls immediately!" Bonnie shouted.

In the background, Caroline could hear Jeremy shouting: "Bonnie, Elena answered . . . but something's wrong. She's crying and she's at the Boarding House. But now it's silent . . ."

The line went dead and Caroline turned to Damon who had a grim expression on his face. "Damon what do we do?"

"We go back to Mystic Falls," Damon stood, pulling Katherine's vervain-ropes so she stood as well. The five-hundred-year old vampire resisted his pull but was too weak to do anything about it.

"What about her?" Caroline jumped to her feet, speaking of Katherine.

Damon shook his head, "No time. We gotta go." He pulled Katherine along out of the Grant mausoleum. Caroline gathered the duffel bag and followed him. They sped across the graveyard, noticing that the sun was high in the sky – it was noon now. Once the three of them were in the car, Damon drove at super speed down the highway toward Mystic Falls.

Hopefully they would make it in time.

* * *

"Stefan, no . . ." Elena called out weakly, her voice barely above a whisper. He wasn't moving or answering. Tears welled in her eyes. No . . . she just got Stefan back; she couldn't lose him again . . .

A sound she'd noticed before but hadn't really payed attention to appeared again – her cell phone. When she'd heard it before she'd been in and out of consciousness and it hadn't really registered. Now, though . . .

Somewhat reluctantly she let go of Stefan's blood-soaked hands and ignored the pain in her shoulder to reach down to the pocket of her jeans. Her fingers wouldn't cooperate – they were too slick with blood and too numb. Crying out in frustration, she tried to angle her body off the wall so she'd have better access to her pocket. However as she moved the bottom half of her body, she discovered a pain deep, deep in her stomach.

"Gah!" She cried out. She looked down, confused by the fact that her jeans and underwear were half way down to her knees and there was dark, deep blood everywhere soaking her skin and her clothes and the floor. Tears soaked in her eyes and part of her knew that something was seriously wrong but her brain wasn't functioning enough to voice it.

Instead she resumed her task, finally managing to pull her cell phone out of her pocket. It was still ringing. She pushed the talk button, smearing blood all over the phone.

"Elena, thank god! Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

Elena could have cried out in joy if it weren't for the intense full-body pain she was experiencing – it was Jeremy!

"P-Please . . . help . . ." She sobbed.

"Elena? What the hell is going on?" Jeremy shouted.

Between the blood loss and the pain, Elena felt her eyelids grow heavy. "B-B-Boarding House . . ." She breathed out before drifting back into the darkness . . .

* * *

With a neighbor watching Jack, Bonnie and Jeremy hurried to the Boarding House. Jeremy was just pulling into the driveway as Bonnie left a message for Alaric. He was in Portland at a teachers conference so he'd probably head back as soon as he could. She hung up her phone and she put it back in her pocket.

"You should have told me what's been going on sooner," Jeremy sighed as he turned off the car. She'd just told him everything on the way over. "She's my sister. I should have been told."

"Stefan and I had it under control," Bonnie rested her hand on her belly as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "Phillip was supposed to be out of town anyway." She started to open her door.

"No . . . you're staying in the car. You're pregnant," Jeremy told her.

"You might need me," Bonnie protested. "I'll be fine. Let's just get in there."

"And what if Phillip's still here?" Jeremy got out and ran to the other side to help his pregnant wife out of the car. Then he grabbed the duffel bag he'd stuffed with weapons and slung it over his shoulder.

"All the more reason not to leave me in the car," Bonnie countered as he rested his hands on her waist. They hurried up and into the house. "Elena! Stefan!" Bonnie shouted when they were inside.

"Sshh!" Jeremy hushed her. "Phillip could still be here."

Bonnie closed her eyes for a moment then opened them. "They're upstairs . . . I-It's just them. I can't feel Millie or Phillip here."

Quickly but not too fast (Bonnie was at the point in her pregnancy that stairs were becoming an issue) the two hurried upstairs. Bonnie closed her eyes again then opened them. "The fourth door on the left."

The two hurried down the hall. When they reached the right door, Bonnie let out a deep breath to prepare herself for what they might find.

Jeremy closed his hand the doorknob and turned, pushing the door open. The first sight they were met with was a huge puddle of blood soaking the light purple plush carpet Bonnie gulped, her eyes watering as she lay eyes on her two friends. She inhaled, a sob escaping her lips . . .

Beside her, Jeremy tensed. The duffel bag of weapons slid to the floor, forgotten. "Um . . . We need to call an ambulance. Damon and Caroline won't make it in time . . ."

* * *

By the time Damon and Caroline passed the Welcome To Mystic Falls! sign three hours later, Caroline's phone rang again.

In the backseat, Katherine was passed out cold courtesy of a large injection of vervain in her system and a vervain-soaked gag and ropes.

As the phone rang, Caroline glanced at Damon – her partner, her best friend, her lover. He looked as worried as Caroline felt. Caroline gulped and unlocked the phone. It was a text from Jeremy telling them to meet them at a hospital in a neighboring town. Caroline told Damon what it said.

"I still don't get why Bonnie said it was Phillip. The guy's harmless," Damon scoffed. "And why would something be wrong with Elena and Stefan? And why'd they take her out of Mystic Falls?"

"I dunno either," Caroline shrugged. "Let's just get there."

Damon turned the car around and headed to the hospital mentioned in the text. "Wait, isn't Phillip a doctor in Mystic Falls?"

"I think so," Caroline said. She glanced behind her. "What are we going to do about Katherine?"

"She's got enough vervain in and on her that she'll be out for quite awhile. Right now we have other things to worry about." Damon pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"Right," Caroline nodded. They hurried into the hospital to find Bonnie and Jeremy.

After a long, long time everything around Millie stopped. Her eyes hurt from crying and by this time she'd been knocked over on her side from all the sharp corners. Her nose wouldn't stop running and she really really missed her mommy and daddy . . .

"Open the door!"

Millie recognized the lady's strange voice and she shook with fear. A car door opened and Millie felt a really cold draft of wind.

"Get the girl out!" The lady shouted.

Millie screamed through the cloth in her hands as she felt a pair of unfamiliar rough hands pull her out of whatever vehicle she was in. Millie continued to scream. She wanted her mommy . . where was her mommy? Why did this strange lady take her? She was lifted in the air and she screamed as loud as she could.

"Shut up, girl!"

Millie whimpered as she was dropped onto a hard floor, landing on her ankle. A throbbing pain spread up her leg and she cried. Then the cloth on her eyes was roughly pulled off and Millie squinted, adjusting to the harsh light. She screamed again, seeing the pretty, mean, scary, strange lady who'd taken her from school. There was a tall, scary-looking man standing next to the lady who Millie had never seen before.

"I said, shut up!" The blonde lady appeared in Millie's face, her hand raising back. Just as the lady's hand hit the side of Millie's face, Millie's eyes widened when she saw her daddy standing behind the blonde lady. His eyes were blank and he wasn't even looking at Millie.

He was the last thing she saw before the lady's hand slapped her face hard and everything went dark . . .

* * *

"Mmm . . ." Elena groaned as she came to. Everything was dark and numb and – what was that loud beeping noise? She couldn't feel anything but numbness.

Suddenly she could open her eyes and turn her head to the side. Her eyes widened when she saw Stefan across the room. He was laying in a bed, his eyes closed. Tubes and wires were attaching him to machines. She squinted her eyes, trying to move. Why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she feel anything?

"Stfn . . ." She tried mumbling but she couldn't move her lips. She felt so weak. "Mmm . . ." She moaned, confused.

Her eyes landed on a red button on the side rail of her bed. Her arms were weak but she was able to maneuver her elbow against the button and somehow managed to push it. The button lit up with red light and beeped.

She realized then that she couldn't remember how she'd gotten here. Why were she and Stefan in the hospital? Stefan was still a vampire . . . unless he was completely human now.

"Hey there, sweetie. You're awake." A soft-spoken nurse wearing blue scrubs with clouds on them walked into the room. Elena didn't recognize her. The nurse was tall with short, cropped red hair and freckles. Elena tried to say something but couldn't get her mouth to cooperate. "It's okay, don't try to talk. We've got you on some pretty powerful pain medication so you're going to be out of it for a while." Tears pooled in the corners of Elena's eyes and she blinked. "Hey, you're okay." The nurse's face softened and she rested her hand on Elena's arm. "We're taking good care of both of you. The two of you went through something traumatic but the doctors have confidence that you'll both be okay."

It was then that flashes of memory returned to Elena's mind. She'd been at the Boarding House with Stefan. Then she saw Phillip punching and kicking Stefan and then he came after her . . .

Tears flowed now from Elena's eyes and her entire body shook violently.

"I need some help in here!" The nurse shouted, holding Elena down with one hand and reaching behind the bed with another. "She's seizing!"

Elena's eyes rolled back in her head and everything became a blur around her. The nurse's voice echoed in her ears. She felt something wet underneath her as the darkness returned.

* * *

Damon paced back and forth in the waiting room, staring at the door the doctors kept going in and out of. Caroline sat in the chair, her knees bouncing up and down anxiously as tears streaked down her face.

Jeremy held his sleeping wife as she leaned and slept restlessly against him. His face was completely numb as he rubbed Bonnie's shoulder.

"We should be out looking for Millie," Damon grunted, talking to Caroline.

"Babe, Phillip's human. The cops are doing everything they can to find her," Caroline sniffled, wiping her eyes.

"It's not enough," Damon shook his head.

"Bonnie said Phillip's never hurt Millie," Jeremy's voice was hoarse. "Just . . ." He let out a breath. "Just Elena."

"Well, he's hurt her now," Damon sighed. Well, they didn't know if Phillip had physically hurt Millie but kidnapping was enough to scar the little girl for life.

"God, when are they going to give us any news!" Caroline let out a frustrated groan. "It's been hours."

"So tell me again how the hell my baby bro is human now?" Damon sat down next to Caroline.

"Bonnie told me that he teamed up with her witch cousin, Lucy." Jeremy said.

"The one Katherine used during the Masquerade ball nine years ago?" Damon said.

Jeremy nodded and continued. "Stefan and Lucy killed Klaus but before they could kill Klaus's witches they did something to Stefan."

"But why make him human?" Caroline said.

Jeremy shrugged. "Bonnie didn't know either. Stefan told her that Lucy couldn't explain it either and now Lucy's dead. Killing Klaus and the witches drained her." Damon and Caroline sighed.

Just then the double doors burst open and a handful of doctors and nurses ran through, rolling a bed down the halls.

Elena was in the bed . . .

Damon and Caroline shot up. Jeremy gently lay Bonnie down on the chairs and followed after the vampires.

"What the hell is going on?" Caroline demanded of the doctors.

"Please back away," A surly-looking male doctor held out his hands and blocked Damon, Caroline, and Jeremy. "We're doing everything we can. We have to take her back to surgery."

"What's wrong with her?" Jeremy shouted.

"Will she be okay?" Damon asked.

"What about Stefan?" Caroline said.

"Your friend is resting comfortably upstairs in room 308 if you want to see him but we need to get Elena to surgery immediately. We'll keep you posted . . ." Without another word, the doctor ran after the others who were pushing Elena's bed around a corner.

Jeremy and Damon and Caroline were left standing there in shock.

It wasn't until Bonnie stirred awake a few moments later that they were shaken out of their shock. They told her what happened and then they all retreated upstairs to go see Stefan.

"Watch where you step, kids," The janitor, an older man with greying red hair told them. They nodded and carefully crossed the room over by the Stefan.

The former vampire was still unconscious but breathing on his own. He was hooked up to a dozen different machines.

Jeremy helped Bonnie get settled in a chair, his hand gently rubbing her stomach. Jeremy and the other two stood around the bed.

Caroline whispered to Damon, her eyes transfixed on the janitor's red-soaked mop. "Didn't they tell us before that Stefan and Elena were in the same room?"

Damon shrugged. "Hey, Mr. Janitor what happened to my brother's roommate? What's with all the blood?"

“Tragedy, really . . ." The janitor sighed. "I heard she was bleedin' out. Stitches came undone or some such nonsense." He gestured to the floor as he finished mopping it up. "Hope she'll be okay." The janitor set up a "Wet Floor" sign, gathered his mop and bucket, and left.

"You guys . . ." Bonnie gulped. "When we found them she was bleeding a lot . . ." Jeremy flinched as he remembered the scene . . . both Stefan and Elena passed out, covered in blood . . .

"They'll fix them, I know they will," Caroline said though it sounded like she was just trying to convince herself.

"Why don't we just give them our blood to heal them?" Damon said.

"You can't," Bonnie shook her head. "We need evidence that Phillip did this so we can finally get rid of him." Damon nodded though his face tensed with frustration. He turned to the wall, taking deep breaths as he willed the veins in his eyes to disappear. Caroline rubbed his back and whispered to him, her voice low enough so only he could hear.

"Excuse me . . ." They all turned to the door where a young doctor with wide, scared eyes and scruffy hair was holding two charts. "I'm Dr. Ellers and I'm here to give you guys an update on your friends." The doctor stepped into the room.

"Is Elena okay?" Bonnie blurted out.

"Mrs. . . ." The doctor opened one of the charts. "Mrs. Salvatore is still in her second surgery. She was seizing and then she started hemorrhaging." They'd told the hospital that Elena was Stefan's husband in case one of the doctors would recognize either Elena's maiden name or Phillip's last name.

"Well what's wrong with her?" Damon practically growled.

"Because of the, um, attack Mrs. Salvatore suffered from a miscarriage," Dr. Ellers cleared his throat.

"She was pregnant?" All of their mouth's dropped.

"U-Um, yes," Dr. Ellers nodded, looking at the chart again. "We calculated that she was around nine weeks along but because of her – um – other injuries, stress, and the low weight she never knew."

"What do you mean the miscarriage happened because of the attack?" Jeremy said. Beside him Bonnie gulped and shivered, wrapping her arms around her own expanded waist.

"Jer, think of the way we found her," Bonnie whispered. Jeremy's jaw went slack and he sat down in the chair next to his wife.

"That bastard . . ." Caroline cursed, shaking her head. Damon's fist clenched.

"But she'll be okay, right? She'll be okay, and she'll be able to have more kids?" Bonnie's voice quivered.

Dr. Ellers sighed. "Unfortunately, we won't know that until we get the bleeding to stop." They all knew – even if the doctor didn't say it – that if they didn't get the bleeding to stop then Elena wouldn't survive either. "She also has a dislocated shoulder and a bruised collar bone."

"A-And my brother?" Damon croaked.

Dr. Ellers switched charts. "Fortunately, Mr. Salvatore's wounds are, well, less severe. He did sustain a stab wound to the abdomen but luckily no major organs were punctured. He also has a few cracked ribs and a bruised jaw but otherwise we expect him to make a full recovery." The pager on the doctor's belt beeped and he left.

Bonnie leaned into Jeremy and he lay his palm on her stomach.

Damon's lip sneered, "I'm going to pummel that asshole when I get my hands on him. I never did like him."

"Oh god . . . I don't know if she'll survive this," Bonnie let out a deep breath. "Even if she recovers physically . . . after everything that Phillip's done . . . and Millie's missing . . ." She buried her face in Jeremy's neck.

"She has to be okay . . . they both have to," Caroline said. "Stefan's back and he's human . . . they have to be okay . . ." She turned to stare out the window.

"Ow . . ."

Everyone jumped at the sound of Stefan's voice. They all stood around the bed as Stefan opened his eyes and looked around. He stared at them in confusion and then his eyes widened.

"Elena . . ." Stefan gasped as he tried to sit up.

Damon held him down, "No can do, little brother, you aren't strong enough to do anything but lay there."

"Where is she?" Stefan struggled against his brother's hold.

"You guys are in the hospital," Caroline sighed.

"What's the last thing you remember," Jeremy asked.

Stefan squinted, thinking. "Elena and I were in the room I was setting up for Millie . . . ugh the blood . . ." Stefan struggled again, trying to get up. "I need to see her. I need to see that she's okay."

Damon shook his head. "She's in surgery."

Stefan's skin paled, turning a sickly white ash. "Ugh, no I remember . . ." Stefan's hands shook, his face still shock white. "Oh god no . . . Phillip was attacking her . . . I couldn't move I was in so much pain . . ." Suddenly white turned to green. Jeremy's eyes widened in recognition as he realized what was about to happen.

"Turn him on his side!" Jeremy shouted. Damon, Caroline, and Jeremy turned Stefan on his side as Bonnie stepped back.

Stefan retched, the contents of his stomach splashing on the floor. Caroline took a tissue from the Kleenex box on the nightstand and wiped his mouth.

Stefan moaned in pain, clearing his throat. "I couldn't do anything. I could hear and see everything . . . everything he did to her. She was so scared . . . oh god . . . . I couldn't save her . . ."

"It's not your fault." Damon told him. Stefan was in a daze, paralyzed by flashes of memories and his own guilt. "He won't get away with this. Attacking you and Elena, taking Millie – we'll get him for it."

"W-Wait, he took Millie?" Stefan stared at all of them.

"The police are doing everything they can to find her," Bonnie said.

"N-No, they won't . . ." Stefan shook his head. "Phillip was compelled. When he attacked us I could see it in his eyes . . . he'd been compelled. If he took Millie, then vampires have her."

Expressions were grim around the room.

* * *

Millie woke up abruptly when the pain in her head and ankle got worse. She woke up crying, scared, and confused. She was propped up in a chair, her hands still tied.

"Well, good morning sweetheart . . ."

Millie's eyes clenched tighter . . . it was the strange blond lady who sounded like the Crocodile Hunter's family from the Australian zoo . . . The lady was lounging in a chair across the room from Millie, smiling.

"Did you sleep well, sweetie?"

Millie whimpered, letting out a small cry.

The lady stood, kneeling down in front of Millie. "There's no need to cry, little one. As long as you do everything exactly as I say everything will be okay. You can go home."

Hope glittered in Millie's eyes.

"That's right, as long as you're a good little girl you can go home." Millie nodded. "Now why don't we introduce ourselves? My name is Rebekah. And your name is Millie, right?" The girl nodded. Rebekah smiled. "Your daddy's told me all about you. He loves you very, very much."

Millie remembered she'd seen her daddy before she fell asleep.

"Right now your daddy's a little, well, tied up. He's busy but if you're good you can see him later." Rebekah told her.

"Mommy?" Millie asked. "Can I see Mommy too?"

Rebekah's lip curled in disgust. "We'll talk about your mother later."

Millie – since she was still a child – didn't notice the disdain her captor held for her mother and she simply nodded, believing she'd see her mommy later.

"Now, the reason we're here . . ." Rebekah sighed. "There's something very special I need you to help me with. Can you do that?"

Millie nodded, oblivious to what Rebekah had planned for her.

Rebekah smiled, her expression dangerous. "Wonderful . . ."

_ To Be Continued . . . _


	6. Chapter 5: Come On Skinny Love, What Happened Here?

Not even twelve hours after Elena and Stefan were admitted to the hospital, Bonnie went into labor. So while Jeremy was off in the delivery room with her, Caroline stayed in the room with Stefan and Elena. By this time, Elena was out of surgery but was still unconscious. Stefan was still awake though, stubbornly waiting for Elena to wake up again before he allowed himself any rest. Damon was out locking Katherine up in the Boarding House and looking for leads on Millie.

"Ugh, I forgot how good food tastes when you're alive," Stefan shoveled down his fourth cup of raspberry jello.

Caroline flipped a page in the magazine she was reading. "And you've never even tasted anything near all the new foods we have today." She said. "But . . . you might want to chill before you give yourself a stomach ache."

Stefan stopped, mid-bite. He nodded, setting the nearly empty plastic cup on the table in front of him.

"How're you feeling?" She asked.

Stefan inhaled deeply. "I feel . . . good. Is that normal? I don't remember."

"You weren't hurt that badly so you'll probably bounce back in a couple days." Caroline shrugged. She glanced to the other side of the room where Elena slept soundly.

Stefan winced as he adjusted in the bed, holding his stomach. "I feel useless . . ."

"Don't worry about it," Caroline shook her head. "You just concentrate on getting better and Damon and I will take care of the rest."

He let out a deep breath. "I didn't even notice that she was pregnant. I should have noticed when I was still a vampire. Why didn't I notice?"

"She didn't even know, Stefan," Caroline reminded him. "It happens. Besides, she's all skin and bones. And with all the stress and the beatings . . . it's a wonder the little one survived in there as long as it did."

"I guess," Stefan sighed.

"Stefan, you have got to stop beating yourself up for this. It is not your fault in any way. Got it?" Caroline insisted. Stefan let out a deep breath.

"Why haven't you guys healed her?" Stefan smoothed down his blanket.

"We don't know for sure whether or not vampires took Millie and are controlling Phillip," Carline reminded him.

"She could die," Stefan groaned.

"The doctors say she's doing good," Caroline shook her head.

"What do they know," Stefan lay back on the bed, letting out a deep breath.

"Stefan, I know you're worried about her but you have to trust that the doctors are doing everything they can to get her better. They said she'll wake up when she's ready." Caroline said.

The former vampire nodded. "Hey, why the hell did you guys bring Katherine here? How did you even find her?"

"When you and Klaus got her in Atlanta, there was a drug dealer hiding in the alley that saw you." She said. "How we found her though . . . we searched every inch of that damn cemetery for days. That was a lot of fun . . ." She rolled her eyes.

"But why?" Stefan sighed.

"We've been looking for you for over eight years, Stefan." Caroline told him.

"Elena told me but . . . I just can't believe none of you gave up." Stefan said.

"Of course we didn't," Caroline said. "We never did. Not once. I'll admit, it wasn't easy – neither is living 24/7 with Damon for eight years."

"You don't seem to mind," Stefan shrugged, glancing at the small, simple, silver band she wore with her lapis lazuli ring. Damon had an identical one.

Caroline grazed her thumb over the four-year-old band. Smiling subtlety, she shrugged. "He grows on a person."

"Who would've thought that my brother would settle down before I did?" Stefan smirked.

Caroline discreetly glanced at Elena. "You will. Just give it time." Stefan didn't see where she'd looked. "So . . . you're human now. I'm so jealous. Though . . . I'm on peaceful terms with the vampire lifestyle."

"I don't really feel different," Stefan shrugged. "Just . . . craving different things. I don't think I'd eaten a fourth as much when I was human the first time than I have the last few months. And, well, things aren't as easy with no extra strength or agility or hearing or healing."

"I think being with the person you love and having a normal life is a pretty fair trade-off." Caroline sighed. Stefan just nodded, still feeling responsible for the way the blonde had been turned into a vampire.

A ringing interrupted the somber moment and Caroline pulled her cellphone out of her pocket. Her eyes lit up. "It's Damon." Stefan tensed, hoping and praying in the back of his mind that his brother found Elena's daughter and the young girl was safe and sound. "Hello?" Caroline spoke.

* * *

"How's your dinner, darling?"

Millie huffed, swallowing down another bite of her mashed potato. "When can I see Mommy?" She mumbled through a mouth full of food.

"Didn't she ever teach you not to talk with your mouth full?" Rebekah sighed.

Millie scrunched up her nose and glared at her blonde captor. "I don't like you."

Rebekah pursed her lips, letting out a deep breath. "We'll have to work on your behavior. Must be the Petrova blood that makes you such a stubborn, naughty girl."

Daggers flew from Millie's eyes as she angrily stuffed another mouthful of mashed potato and gravy into her mouth.

Rebekah sighed, rising from the chair she sat on next to Millie. She walked over to the tall, burly man who'd pulled Millie from the van. Standing up on her tiptoes, Rebekah whispered in the man's ear so Millie wouldn't hear: “Watch her. Make sure she eats all of that. Don't let her go anywhere but don't hurt or kill her.” The man nodded, his mind compelled to obey.

Rebekah left the room, walked down the hall, and entered another room through the door. She grinned upon seeing her other captive exactly where she'd left him. "Hello, Phillip . . ." She purred. Millie's father didn't budge, nor did his eyes stray from the exact spot on the wall they'd been focused on for the last several hours. "Are we not in the mood to play?"

She circled him around the room running her fingers along his chest and back. The fabric of his clothes were still soaked with blood. He didn't even flinch but then again she'd compelled him not to move.

"My, my you're a quiet cat tonight," Rebekah sighed. "What's the matter? Don't like being on the other side of the game?"

She grabbed a hold of his hair, pulling on his scalp. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead and his lungs begged to scream.

"I wonder if your wife was ever this terrified when you beat her," Rebekah mused, noticing the dark, wet stain growing along the inseam of his tan pants. "Did she scream? Did she cry? Did she beg you stop? What, no screaming for you?" She paused. "Oh, that's right. I compelled you not to make a sound . . ." She pulled his head back further. More sweat dripped down his forehead. "Now, I've never met your wife . . . but if she's anything like her ancestors I sincerely pity you."

Confusion shone in Phillip's eyes.

"Those Petrova women have always been nothing but trouble. Slutty, manipulative, back-stabbing, trouble makers." Rebekah grit her teeth. "Honestly, I don't understand why everyone's always in such a fuss over them. The world will truly be a better place without that particular bloodline."

Phillip didn't reply – not that he could – while she talked.

"But, well, even if he didn't want to admit it my brother's greatest weakness was love. He liked to pretend otherwise but I knew. He loved our mother and all of his brothers and sisters. And in the end, it was love for himself that finally did him in." Rebekah cleared her throat. "No matter, he will be avenged." She let out a deep breath. "I can tell that you're confused. What does my brother have to do with your wife? Everything."

She stood up, walking away from Phillip. She paced the room, anxious. Phillip visibly relaxed – but only a bit.

"Obviously your little wife hasn't been completely honest with you, though who would blame her. You haven't really given her many reasons to trust you." Phillip's lip twitched slightly. Rebekah smirked, pausing her pacing. "You really should have treated her better. You might not be in his mess."

Without elaborating on that further Rebekah went back to her plans. "I suppose we should get on with it. The sooner we do the ritual, the sooner I can be rid of all of you and my brother and I can get back to our lives."

She walked over to the tall, burly man in the corner. "Darlin', won't you tell Gloria it's almost time? As soon as the sun sets we can begin." The burly man nodded and left the room.

Rebekah turned to Phillip. "Our time together is fast coming to an end, my dear Phillip. I must say, you truly aren't horrible company. As one of the first feminists of our world, however, nothing will bring me more pleasure than to see you suffer. And suffer you will . . ." Rebekah sighed. Phillip flinched. "You will watch me drain every ounce of blood from your dear daughter's tiny, fragile, little body. And when my brother returns, he'll punish you for treating his doppelganger so horribly . . ."

Without another word, Rebekah left the room – a smile on her face.

* * *

As Jeremy held his newborn son in his arms and watched his exhausted wife sleep he couldn't help but think of his sister.

Two floors above Elena was still unconscious. Would she wake up? The doctors weren't hopeful. He hated himself for not ever noticing the abuse she was going through. Sure, he'd seen a few bruises over the years but his sister was and had always been a clumsy girl.

His new son cooed in his sleep and Jeremy felt stubborn tears prick at his eyes. He'd just become a father – again. This should be one of the happiest days of his life and yet . . . he felt devastated. He'd gained a new child but his sister was missing one and lost another all his one fell swoop. And now she was fighting for her own life . . .

He wiped the stubborn tears away and rocked the newborn in his arms. The little boy was content and Jeremy was thankful. He wanted to let his wife sleep for as long as he could. Also, he needed time to process everything.

However, it didn't appear as if he'd get the time needed. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out using his free hand. It was a text from Caroline: Damon's got a lead on Millie. Will txt w/ more info. Jeremy sent a quick reply: K. Keep us posted. He glanced at Bonnie who was still alseep. She was always so peaceful when she slept – and of course beautiful. He remembered the first night they'd spent together. In the morning he'd awoken before her and he'd just watched her sleep for hours. It was then that he'd known he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

The baby stirred in his arms, about to awaken. Not wanting to wake Bonnie, he called for a nurse. He rocked the boy in his arms while he waited for the nurse, his mind on his sister again.

* * *

Caroline met Damon at the Boarding House a few minutes after texting Jeremy. She'd used her vampire speed to get there faster.

She found him pacing upstairs in the hall right outside the room Stefan had been setting up for Millie. "Damon what's going on? What did you find?"

Damon stopped, turning to face her. He held a cell phone in his hands . . . .but it wasn't his. "This. It's Phillip's. I know exactly where Millie is."

Caroline's eyes widened. "Then let's go get her!"

Damon shook his head. "Vampires do have her . . . but it's a little more complicated than that." Caroline inclined her head, confused. "Remember that name we came across but never thought anything of?"

"Of course," Caroline nodded. "The mob guy in Reno mention something about a Rebekah."

"But we never found anything on her," Damon said. "Until now." He handed her the phone. She opened it, going through the texts. "She's an Original, Care." Damon's voice cracked as he ran his hands through his hair. "She's one of Klaus and Elijah's sisters."

"What does she want with Millie?" Caroline said, still reading the texts.

"Who knows? Probably something to with Millie's bloodline." Damon growled.

"Petrova blood," Caroline gasped.

"Exactly," Damon sighed. "The two of us against an Original is hardly going to end well. Plus she probably has vampires and witches on her side. Stefan being human now kinda puts us at a disadvantage. And Witchy's in the hospital."

"We have to try," Caroline insisted. "We have to get Millie back. Elena's already lost one child today. We can't let her lose another."

Damon let out a deep breath, nodding. "You're right." He sighed, glancing toward the floor. "Unfortunately, we need reinforcements."

"Do you think we can trust her?" Caroline questioned.

Damon shrugged. "We'll play the guilt and humanity cards. She lost her child centuries ago . . .. if we can get to her humanity she'll definitely help us. Hopefully . . ."

The two blurred downstairs to the basement to the cell where Damon had locked Katherine up. When they went inside Katherine was lounging on the cot, looking surprisingly comfortable despite the amount of vervain in her system and the vervain covered chains and ropes that restrained and attached her to the heavy, cement wall.

She stared at them, bored and not at all surprised. "Let me guess . . . you need my help." Damon shifted and Caroline sighed. "Of course you do. You know, as much as you guys say you hate me and don't trust me . . . you seem to need me an awful lot."

"Millie's your blood, Katherine," Caroline told her. "You can hate Elena all you want because she has your face but Millie never did anything. She's just a scared, lonely little girl – who shares your blood – who may never get to see her mother again."

Katherine flinched but didn't react. "What doesn't kill her will make her stronger. My daughter survived without me."

"Your daughter wasn't kidnaped by an Original," Damon shrugged. Katherine raised her eyebrow, intrigued. "That's right. It's Klaus's sister – Rebekah."

"You will definitely need my help," Katherine held out her hands. "I've heard things about her . . . none of it's comforting to say the least." She pushed at her restrained hands again. "Well, let's go. If Rebekah has her then we don't have a lot of time." Damon didn't move. "Damon, you need me. There is no time for your trust issues."

Damon rolled his eyes, nodding. Picking up a pair of gloves from the mound of dirt in the corner , he put them on and set about untying Katherine.

When she was released, Katherine let out a deep sigh of relief – she was finally free. She stumbled out of the cell to the old cooler where the blood was kept. Damon and Caroline waited impatiently as the five-hundred-plus-year old vampire sucked down three blood bags greedily.

Ten minutes later – after Katherine showered and changed her clothes – the trio were in Damon's car headed to the address they found on Phillip's phone. They'd stocked up on weapons and extra blood and were ready to go rescue Millie.

"So . . ." Katherine spoke from the backseat. "What's this about Stefan not being a vampire anymore?"

Damon glanced at her through the mirror above the dash. "Why, Katherine? You gonna turn him again? Make him fall in love with you again?" Caroline glanced at Damon. Both she and he knew that Stefan would never go there with Katherine again – not as long as Elena was around.

"No . . ." Katherine shrugged. "Just curious as to how it happened. As far back as I've known, a vampire becoming human again is unprecedented."

"It was Klaus's witches," Damon sighed, not wanting to tell her everything. "Supposedly it was an accident."

Katherine scoffed. "Nothing Klaus does is an accident."

"Klaus is dead," Caroline spoke up. "Besides, Bonnie believes they were trying to do something else and it failed and Stefan being human is just part of their botched spell."

"The witches that Klaus chooses don't make mistakes," Katherine sighed, gazing out the window. "Mark my words . . . Stefan's human because Klaus's witches or Klaus or both wanted him to be."

Damon didn't reply and Caroline was quiet as they continued down the highway. Katherine was silent as well, letting the other two think about what she'd said.

* * *

Jeremy left Bonnie's room as the nurse helped her breastfeed their new son – now brandished with the name Daniel Ray – for the first time. She'd always had problems when Jack was a baby so he figured he'd give her some space and get her flowers later. After he called their neighbor to check on Jack he made his way to Stefan and Elena's room, knocking quietly on the partially closed door.

"Come in . . ." Stefan shouted quietly.

Jeremy pushed open the door and went inside. Stefan was flipping through channels, staring at the tv. Elena appeared to unfortunately still be unconscious. When he entered the room, Stefan turned the tv off and turned to look at him.

"Hey," Stefan sighed weakly, shifting gingerly so he was sitting up.

"Hey, how're you doing?" Jeremy asked.

"Better," Stefan shrugged. "Worried about Elena and Millie."

"Still nothing new? It's been hours," Jeremy said.

Stefan shook his head. "They say she's fine and the waking up has to be when her body's ready . . ."

"Can't they just wake her up anyway?" Jeremy said.

"They say it has to be when she's ready. They didn't really explain why." Stefan sighed. Jeremy let out a deep breath, frustrated. "How's Bonnie and the baby?"

Jeremy ran his hands through his hair. "Fine. Perfectly healthy. They're releasing both of them tomorrow already."

"That's good," Stefan nodded.

"I know I shouldn't but I worry," Jeremy sighed. "With Elena losing one and us with the new baby and Millie's missing . . ."

"Damon and Caroline will find them," Stefan told him. "Caroline just left not long ago . . . Damon had news."

"Yeah, they texted me," Jeremy nodded. Just then Jeremy's pocket beeped. "That's probably them now." He pulled out his phone and opened it. "Yep. It's Caroline. It says that they know where Millie is and they're on their way to get her."

"Do they know who took her?" Stefan asked.

The phone beeped again. "Apparently they took Katherine with them as backup and . . ." Jeremy's eyes widened.

"What is it?" Stefan said urgently.

An Original vampire has Milie – Klaus's sister Rebekah," Jeremy told him.

Stefan froze, his eyes wide and jaw slack. "Rebekah?" Jeremy nodded. "I-I think I knew her . . ."

"Wait, what?" Jeremy said.

Stefan sat forward, grunting slightly as his wound stretched. "It's like the memories were always there but . . ." Stefan cleared his throat. "I'm just remembering that I have these memories . . ." He looked up at Jeremy in horror. "I-I knew Klaus and Rebekah – in the '20s . . ."

"As in . . ." Jeremy's jaw dropped.

"1920s," Stefan ran his fingers through his hair. He breathed deeply, letting his breath out slowly as he thought about those weeks in Chicago with Klaus and Rebekah. The booze, the music, the victims . . .

"They're gonna get Millie back, right?" Jeremy gulped, his gaze on his unconscious sister. The reaction wasn't hopeful as Stefan didn't answer.

Both of them just watched the rise and fall as Elenas slept, waiting for the call or text that would decide Millie's fate . . .

* * *

Millie shook where she sat, crunching her fists in the skirt of the pretty red dress she wore. She hated dresses. She liked the Christmas she went with Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Bonnie to New York and she bundled up in layers and layers of clothes and a snowsuit and boots. It made her feel safe and warm and snug.

Aunt Bonnie played with her in the snow. They made snow angels and went ice skating and saw all the pretty lit-up trees and got hot chocolate . . .

"Millie, sweetheart . . ."

The young girl was ripped from her memories as her captor made herself known again. Millie's fists clenched tighter on the fabric.

"It's almost time for the party," Rebekah sat down on the chair across from Millie. "Remember I told you that you're the guest of honor?"

Millie nodded, sniffling. "I just wanna go home . . ."

Rebekah sighed. "Yes, well . . . we don't always get what we want in life do we?" Tears fell from Millie's eyes. "Don't cry, darling. Strong women like us need to be brave. Being weak will never get you anywhere."

Millie sniffled, wiping her nose on the long sleeve of the dress she wore. She didn't respond to what Rebekah said. She'd heard her mommy cry a lot and mommy was strong and brave. Whenever Millie heard her mom cry she just wanted her to be happy.

"Okay . . ." Rebekah clapped her hands, rubbing them together a few times. She stared right into Millie's eyes. "When everything starts you won't move or talk or cry or make a sound. And you'll do everything I tell you to without a fuss."

Little Millie felt her head not even though she only wanted to yell and cry and stomp her foot and scream NO!

"Good girl," Rebekah nodded. "Things might get scary but it won't affect you. Okay?" Millie nodded even though she didn't want to. "It's showtime!" She shouted.

Moments later the room filled with tall, strange men and a few women that Millie didn't recognize. Then two men came in carrying a chair . . . her daddy was in the chair. He stared at Millie with wide eyes. A tall lady with short, white braided hair followed behind.

The white-haired lady looked sad when she looked at Millie. She walked over to the girl and knelt down in front of her. She held Millie's hands. "How are you holdin' up, sweetie?" Millie backed away. "It's okay, I'm not one of those monsters. I'm Gloria."

"I want my mommy," Millie sniffled.

Gloria's expression softened even more. "Oh, I know you do sweetie. You have to be strong though, okay?" Millie nodded – this time of her own will – and sniffled again.

"Gloria," Rebekah's voice carried from across the room.

Gloria sighed, giving Millie's hand a comforting squeeze before she stood up to join Rebekah. All of the strange men and women left the room leaving just Millie, Gloria, Rebekah, and Millie's daddy.

Millie closed her eyes tight. She didn't know what was going to happen but she didn't want to see. She heard the sound of shuffling feet and Gloria started talking – but the words didn't make sense.

Millie blocked everything in her brain and only thought about happy things – her mommy, her family, her toys, her favorite foods . . .

Suddenly she was lifted off the chair by two arms under her armpits. She kept her eyes shut tight. She wanted to cry out or scream but she couldn't. Tears fell down her eyes as she was layed down on a hard surface.

"Keep your eyes closed, Millie . . ." Rebekah's voice echoed around her. Millie did, even though she didn't need to be told. "You won't feel anything. Nothing."

Millie lay there, breathing heavily, clenching her eyes shut even tighter. More tears fell down her neck and caked in her hair. Gloria was still talking and speaking strange words. Millie felt a tingle on the inside of both her wrists and something wet dripped down her arms. What were they doing to her? She started to squirm.

"Millie, don't move," Rebekah scolded her.

The young girl felt herself start to get weak. Her mind went to her mother and uncle and aunt and cousin.

"We're almost there," Gloria sighed. "She's getting weaker."

"Niklaus will be very disappointed when he finds out that his doppelganger has been alive all this time. She was supposed to die nine years ago. The Petrova bloodline was supposed to end when he broke the curse. Now with her and her daughter dead, Niklaus will never have to worry about it again."

"You killed the doppelganger too?" Gloria said.

"No . . . I had her loving, abusive husband do it," Rebekah shrugged. "The police will be looking for and blaming him."

"Clever," Gloria sighed.

Millie heard all of this but because of Rebekah's mind compulsion none of it registered in her mind. The young girl continued to grow weaker. Her body grew numb, her breathing evened, and her eyelids were heavy. She felt like she'd fall asleep soon . . .

A loud noise shook Millie alert. It was the sound of a door bursting off its hinges. A blurred figure rushed in the room and Millie could feel the air whoosh past her. Rebekah shouted angrily, "Where are my bodyguards?"

"They're dead . . ."

Millie didn't recognize the voice. Apparently neither did Rebekah. "Who are you?'

"I'm your worst nightmare . . ."

"Millie, sweetheart, open your eyes."

Millie's heart sped up as her ears recognized the voice. Her eyes flew open eagerly. "Mommy!" She smiled at the woman standing over her.

Her mommy smiled . . . but the smile was different than she usually smiled. Mommy's smiles were always sad. "That's right, baby. We're going home now."

"Mommy, I'm scared . . ." Millie sniffled.

"Mommy's got you now, everything's going to be okay."

Behind her mommy, Millie saw a blond lady she'd never seen before and a dark haired man fighting Rebekah. Gloria stood off in a corner.

"Millie, baby, can you look at Mommy?" Millie focused her eyes up on her mommy, nodding. Their eyes locked and Millie felt dizzy. "You're going to drink my blood so I can heal you but you'll never remember doing it, okay?" Millie nodded. "My face is going to change too but all you'll see is a normal face." Again, Millie nodded.

Her mommy bit her wrist and held it against Millie's mouth. Bitter tasting liquid flowed down Millie's throat and the girl scrunched her nose against the horrible taste. The tingling on her wrist went away and she didn't feel sleepy anymore – just a bit dizzy.

"That's a good girl," Her mommy pulled her wrist away and used the long sleeve of her shirt to wipe Millie's mouth. Millie sat up and pulled her mommy into a crushing hug. At first it seemed like her mommy was pulling away but then she hugged her back.

Millie watched as behind her mommy the strange lady put a little silver knife in her daddy's hand. The strange man held Rebekah tight. Rebekah was slumped in his arms, asleep.

"Stab her . . . right in the heart." The strange lady was staring in her daddy's eyes like Millie's mommy had done to her. Millie's daddy plunged the little sword in Rebekah's heart. Rebekah's skin turned grey and lines snaked across her skin.

Millie's mommy picked her up and held her on her hip, burying the little girls' head in her shoulder. Millie inhaled, smelling her mommy's skin but found that it didn't smell the same as it usually did.

"Are we going to have to kill you too?" The strange man said.

"N-No . . . she forced me to. I didn't want to," Gloria stuttered.

"Just let her go," The strange lady said. "Let's just go home." The strange man sighed.

"Is she okay?" The strange man said.

Millie felt her mommy nod. "She healed."

"Here, I'll take her," The strange lady said.

Millie tensed. Why did she have to go by the strange lady? The girl started to shake, her little arms grasping her mommy tighter.

"She doesn't know either of you," Her Mommy said. "I've got her." Millie relaxed, starting to feel sleepy. It wasn't long before she fell asleep in the comfort of her mother's safe, warm arms.

* * *

Within seconds, Millie was asleep and Damon and Caroline stood there – both of them on alert. "I won't hurt her." Katherine held the girl who didn't know it wasn't her mother who had her. "Why would I help you guys save her if I just wanted to kill her?"

Sighing, Damon nodded – even though he didn't like it. Besides, they had to deal with Elena's husband.

"What are we going to do with him?" Caroline glanced at Phillip, who was slumped unconscious next to Rebekah's lifeless silver-daggered corpse. "Kill him?"

Damon stared at the man, smirking. "I have a better idea." He grabbed Caroline's arm. "Babe, you grab him I'll get the Blondie."

So Damon dragged Rebekah out, Caroline slumped Phillip over her shoulder, and Katherine carried the sleeping Millie in her arms out to the car . . .

* * *

Even before Elena awoke she could feel the presence of multiple familiar people around her. She could feel their sadness, their worry, their anxiousness. Something was wrong, she could feel it.

Her body was still numb – no pain, but she felt heavy and weighed down like she was wrapped up tight from head to toe. Her mind felt foggy, slow, as if she were experiencing everything through a screen.

She could now feel the presence of a warm body against hers. The contact calmed her, making her feel safe. Slowly she began to regain more feeling and her eyes fluttered open. Bright, white, light invaded her senses and she whimpered. Her face twitched, the harsh light overwhelming her and she closed her eyes again.

"It's too bright for her . . ."

The voice echoed loudly, sounding false or as if she were hearing it from far away. It didn't sound familiar at all but then again Elena's ears weren't fully functioning yet.

All of a sudden the harsh light dimmed considerably and she tried opening her eyes again. There was still a light but it wasn't as bad. She blinked a few times as her sight processed what was around her. The first thing she could make out was a relieved smile hovering over her. She blinked some more and the corners of her lips tugged into a smile as well.

It was Stefan . . .

"Hey," He smiled at her, leaning down and pressing his lips gently on her forehead. The contact of skin on hers sent a spark through her and with that spark she could feel her torso and limbs. Everything was still numb but she could at least feel the presence of her body. Stefan's arms were wrapped around her and she found that she was laying next to him, facing him.

"H-hey," Elena forced out of her throat but it barely came out above a whisper.

Stefan shook his head, "Ssshhh, save your strength." She nodded, wincing now that she'd extended her throat.

She looked around again, finding that the other presences she'd felt before were gone. It was just her and Stefan. They were in a strange room in a bed. Across the room there was an empty bed with the covers drawn down. She locked eyes with Stefan, just now noticing the dark bruise on the side of his jaw. She crinkled her eyebrows, worried. Shouldn't it have healed by now?

She tried to move, to turn over to get a better look at his jaw but was hindered by a jagged slice of pain in her shoulder. Then a sudden throbbing settled between her shoulders and traveled deep in her stomach. She blinked back tears.

"You're in pain aren't you?" Stefan's eyes darkened, hooded with guilt. She nodded, a tear sliding down her cheek. He sighed, unwrapping his arms from around her waist. When he let go she felt a heaviness in her heart and the throbbing quickened. Stefan was slowly sitting up, holding on to his side. Despite her pain, Elena was worried about Stefan. His face clenched as he pushed the red button on the side of the bed. He started breathing deeply as he swung his legs over the side.

Out of nowhere Elena's breath quickened. She was finding it harder to breathe as the pain grew and grew. She whimpered, unable to move. Stefan ran his fingers through her hair.

"It's okay, the nurse is on her way. You'll be okay," He spoke with a calm voice. 

Elena choked, inhaling as she tried to catch her breath. Her shoulder and chest and stomach trembled, throbbing so much she felt as if she'd burst apart.

"I'm here, it's okay." Elena barely registered the presence of the nurse as her eyes were transfixed on Stefan. "That's right, just look at me." Stefan told her. He was watching something behind her but still glancing down at her.

After a few moments Elena's breathing calmed down as the intense pain went back to a numbness. Taking a few more deep breaths, she sighed.

"There, all better."

She turned her head to see the nurse pulling the needle of a syringe out of the tube attached to Elena's arm. The nurse reached over and lifted Elena up, pulling a pillow up against the headboard and then laying Elena against it so she was sort of sitting up. The movement caused Elena's stomach to pull and tug and tighten and she winced. The nurse then picked up a cup from the table beside Elena and put something in her hand.

The nurse held it up to Elena's mouth and she could feel cold ice against her lips. "Here," The nurse said. "It'll make you feel better." Elena parted her lips and the ice cube sloshed around her mouth. The combination of the cold and the melting liquid soothed Elena's sore throat.

Once the cube was completely melted, Elena coughed a few times. Her eyes were on Stefan. "W-What hap-happened . . ."

Stefan turned to the nurse, sighing. The nurse nodded and left the room. Stefan turned to face her, still holding his side. "The doctors say you're going to be okay, Elena."

"W-why . . . " Elena coughed again.

"Come here," Stefan gently wrapped his arm around her waist again. She snuggled against his side. "What do you remember?"

"W-We were at the Boarding House then . . ." She trailed off, her chest constricting. She gulped. "Phillip . . ."

Stefan nodded. "He took us by surprise. I didn't even hear him but . . . Bonnie says I'm completely human now." Elena nodded – that explained why his wounds weren't healing. "What else do you remember?"

Elena's entire body tensed as flashes of memory flew in front of her eyes. "H-He attacked you―us―m-me . . ."

Stefan cleared his throat. "Um . . . there's, ah, something else."

Just then the nurse returned carrying a blanketed bundle in her arms. Elena's bottom lip quivered as tears pooled in her eyes and a sob escaped her lips. By the time the nurse lay the bundle gently down in her arms, Elena was whimpering as a horrible realization filled her.

"Can we have a minute?" Stefan asked the nurse, who nodded sympathetically and swiftly left the room.

When the door was closed Elena embraced the blanketed bundle and held it close to her heart, convulsing with tears. "No . . ." She whimpered, gripping the bundle tight. "No, please, no . . ."

Stefan wrapped his arms around her tight, burrowing his nose in her neck. He held her close as sobs wracked her body.

"No, no, no . . ." She cried. "N-no . . ." Stefan continued to hold her as she cried. At one point she set the bundle down on her lap. She held her breath as she unraveled the blanket. She didn't realize, however, that she'd been holding her breath until it came out in one deep sob.

Her eyes caught the first sight of underdeveloped pink flesh and her chest constricted. Her fingers froze, unable to move. Stefan rested a hand on her back, tears pooling in his own eyes. After another moment her hands unwrapped the rest of the blanket until a tiny, newly formed little figure rested limply inside the cloth.

A deep, hollow, pain echoed in Elena's heart as she reached her hand out. When her fingers made contact with the cold little figure's tiny still-webbed hand she clenched, sobbing. Stefan rubbed her back to remind her he was there so she could draw on his strength. Elena leaned backward against him, her entire body trembling.

Guilt resonated throughout her body. How could she have not known she was pregnant? Why hadn't she taken better care of herself? Why didn't she ever fight Phillip off, do whatever was necessary to make him leave her alone?

"It's not your fault, Elena." Stefan whispered.

Elena didn't respond. Her entire focus lay on the little life she lost and could never get back again. This innocent little child who hadn't even been given the choice to live or be loved or meet all the people who would love and support and protect him or her. She turned to face Stefan. "W-Where's Millie?"

"She's in another room, asleep. Jeremy's with her," Stefan told her.

Elena's bottom lip trembled, her gaze still fixed on the little figure on her lap. Her heart heaved and constricted again, her chest rising and falling deeply with each strangled breath. "Stefan, I . . . I c-c-an't . . ." She sobbed, holding on to her chest.

Stefan wrapped an arm around her while the other pushed the call button for the nurse. He wrapped the other arm around her and she turned her head, burying it in his shoulder while she cried. Moments later the nurse returned and took the bundle out of the room. When she was gone, Stefan pulled Elena onto his lap.

"I'm a failure . . ." She sobbed. "I killed my baby . . ."

"No," Stefan shook his head. "Your husband killed your baby and he hurt both of us."

She shook her head. "No, it's my fault . . . I should've been a better wife, a better mother . . ."

"Elena, you are the best," Stefan whispered in her ear. "Hey, look at me." Elena sniffled, lifting her head. Tears streaked her cheeks. "Elena, something else was happening when Phillip attacked us." Elena was quiet, her tears starting to calm down. "He attacked us because he was compelled to, by a vampire." Elena's eyes widened. "It was Klaus's sister, Rebekah. She was angry that I killed her brother. She compelled Phillip and kidnapped Millie―"

"But you said―" Elena cut him off.

Stefan shook his head, "She's safe. It's okay." Elena relaxed, nodding. "Rebekah took Millie to use her blood to bring Klaus back."

"Why didn't she just use me?" Elena said.

"Damon and Caroline said they heard Rebekah talking. You were supposed to die when Klaus broke the curse and the Petrova line was supposed to end with you. She sent Phillip to kill you as punishment but he didn't exactly finish the job – not that she knew that. She used Millie so the line would end," Stefan told her.

"Damon and Caroline are back?" Elena said.

Stefan nodded. "Bonnie called them. They figured out where Rebekah had Millie and they went and saved her." Elena fidgeted and Stefan set her back on the bed. "There's something else." Elena froze. "They took Katherine with them."

"You said that Katherine was in a tomb in Atlanta," Elena's eyes widened, panicking at the thought of her ancestor anywhere near her daughter.

"Damon and Caroline found her trying to get to me. She was with them when Bonnie called," Stefan shrugged. "From what they say, she actually helped a lot. Caroline told me that if it hadn't been for Katherine, Millie wouldn't have come with them because she's never met Damon or Caroline. And she healed her."

"She pretended to be me, didn't she?" Elena sighed.

Stefan nodded. Elena let out a deep breath. "They said she took off, though. So hopefully we won't be hearing from her again."

Relieved at the thought of never seeing her ancestor again, Elena sighed. "And what about Phillip?"

"Damon actually had an idea about that," Stefan smirked. "They healed him, dumped him at a motel, and compelled him." Elena raised an eyebrow. "They made him forget about all the vampire stuff. All he remembers is that he was drunk and he attacked you and he took off and blacked out. He's going to file for divorce, give you sole custody of Millie, and pay you alimony and child support every month. Oh, and he doesn't want to ever see Millie ever again."

A small smirk tugged at the corners of Elena's mouth. "Um . . . I think that's way better than killing him or sending him to jail."

"It was all Damon and Caroline's doing," Stefan said. She sighed, yawning. "Why don't you get some rest and when you wake up Millie will be by your side."

Elena nodded, smiling as she thought of her brave little girl. Stefan went over to his own bed and lay down as well. It was quiet for a few moments before Elena spoke. "Stefan?"

"Hmm?" He yawned.

"I'm really glad you're back," She sighed.

"I'm glad to be back," He said. She yawned again. After only a few moments, both of them were asleep.

To Be Continued . . .


	7. Chapter 6: Please Just Save Me From This Darkness

The next day, Stefan and Elena were released from the hospital when they "miraculously" completely healed. Of course, the doctors discovered this only moments after Damon and Caroline "visited" the two patients. Millie's memories of everything were wiped clean by her new aunty Caroline. The two instantly clicked, a lifelong bond formed.

Unable to stand the memories of heartache and abuse, Elena immediately decided upon permanently moving herself and Millie into the Boarding House. Stefan decided to stay in Mystic Falls in the Boarding House too – albeit in a separate room than Elena. The reason being that while Caroline had healed all of her physical wounds, the state of Elena's emotional health was damaged almost beyond repair.

Publicly, she was going through a divorce. True to Damon's compulsion Phillip filed for divorce, gave up his parental rights, and committed to a weekly generously amounted child support and alimony check for the rest of Millie's life. Elena never pressed charges for the attack, the police never found out about it, and she'd never have to be in a room with her ex husband again. Damon and Caroline also compelled the hospital staff to believe that Stefan and Elena had never even been patients there.

Elena told Millie that her father transferred to a new country for work and wouldn't be moving back. Many tears were shed and the young girl cried herself to sleep that night and for many nights after. Everyone told Elena that she'd done the right thing. Elena told herself that she was protecting her own flesh and blood from a man who didn't deserve to be a father much less a man.

The others tried to help her with Millie and moving and planning a funeral for a child she never got to meet . . . but she just pushed them all away. She buried herself and her emotions, putting on an air of "I'm fine" that could fool a stranger but to those who knew and loved her it only proved how really damaged she was.

Seeing her brother happy with his wife and son and new baby only depressed her further though she tried to hide it. She mourned her loss in private and kept Millie especially close to her at all times. The young girl at times felt suffocated but the confusion of never seeing her father again kept her especially quiet.

Stefan in particular did all he could to help and support her. He loved her from afar, wishing they could be more but knowing that he had to wait. Instead, he focused all his energies on taking care of his two favorite girls. He took care of Millie, helping her with homework, taking and picking her up from school, playing with her, and taking her to the movies and the park. He held Elena every night when she cried, he listened intently to her incoherent sobbing rambles in moments where the memories were just too much. She never talked about anything – not with anyone, not even him – about what happened behind closed doors during her seven year marriage.

Finally after more than a few months and too many failed attempts Stefan decided that it was time to break through to her. Going to a therapist was out of the question – too many supernatural bits in the equation – and she would never talk to her brother or Bonnie about this and definitely not Damon or Caroline.

One night he asked Damon and Caroline to take Millie for the night, telling Elena that it was the girl's wish to spend some time with her aunt and uncle. At first Elena protested, wanting to keep Millie close, but Stefan insisted it would be good for her to get out of the house for a while. Elena reluctantly agreed and retreated upstairs as soon as Millie left. Stefan didn't need super hearing to know that she was most likely crying.

Hours later Stefan walked into the hall as Elena descended the stairs. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, pulling the edge of her oversized t-shirt over her sweats. "Dinner's simmering on the stove," He told her. "You can eat any time you're ready."

Elena nodded, yawning. He noticed the red, puffy eyes and swollen nose that confirmed that she had been crying upstairs. Then again, she'd been crying for months now. She sniffled. "I'm just going to read for a little bit."

"Sure," Stefan said. "Actually, that sounds like a good idea. Mind if I join you?"

Elena shrugged, sighing, "Fine."

He winced . . . he hated that non-responsive tone in her voice. Every day just got worse. He followed her into the living room where she picked up her book from the table behind the couch. She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders and sat down on the couch.

"You cold? I could start a fire," Stefan suggested.

"Whatever," She shrugged, not looking up.

"Okay then," He let out a deep breath, going over to the fireplace. Elena opened her book, not paying attention to him. Once he got the fire going, Stefan grabbed his own book from the mantle and reclined in the armchair across the room from her.

It was quiet for a while as the two read. The only sound heard was the occassional crackles from the fireplace. However, Stefan wasn't really reading. When Elena wasn't looking up he watched her. All of her physical scars and marks and bruises were faded. When he looked in her eyes, though, he could see her emotional pain and sadness.

"Stefan . . ." She sighed.

He blinked, looking at her. "What?"

"You're watching me," She put her book down. "You only do that when you're worried."

Taken aback, he nodded. "I am." He put his book down. "I always worry about you."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm fine."

He scoffed. "No, you're not." He crossed the room, sitting on the other side of the couch she was on. She drew her knees to her chest, backing away from him. She gulped, wrapping her arms around her shoulders. "It's been months. You need to talk about it, work through it."

"No," She shook her head. "I-I'm fi―"

Stefan groaned. "Stop saying that. You're not." She jumped, backing away further. He let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you. I just . . . I hate seeing you like this. You're hurting and I want to help you but you just keep pushing me away. You're pushing everyone away." She didn't say anything, just stared down at the floor. "You're acting the same way you did when I first came back. You're not alone anymore. He's gone, Elena, and he's never coming back."

She sighed, letting out a deep breath. After a few moments she sighed again. "S-Sometimes . . . it feels like I'll wake up and nothing will have changed. I'll still be stuck in that house wondering when the next time would be when he'd hit me or yell at me." She sniffled.

"He won't," Stefan shook his head.

"I know but . . ." She sniffled again. She looked up, a tear gathering in the corner of her eye. "Stefan, it hurts . . ."

He immediately looked her over, looking for a wound or a bruise. "Elena, what―"

"No . . ." She shook her head, her hand over her chest. "In here, it hurts. A-And it hurts to talk and t-to breathe and t-think about it and . . ." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I can't even look at myself in the mirror without bursting into tears." She sniffled again. "I-I loved him with everything I had a-and I did everything for him. I cooked and cleaned and entertained for him. I gave him a daughter and raised her by myself . . ." She heaved.

Stefan nodded, "Just let it all out."

"I gave up everything for him. I lied to my family and friends. I tried to impress his coworkers and bosses so he'd get promotions and raises. I . . ." She broke down into sobs, still mumbling but not really saying anything Stefan could understand.

Once she quieted a bit, Stefan picked up her book and set it on the coffee table. "Elena, months ago I asked you how long Phillip had been hurting you and you couldn't say it."

She nodded. "I was too afraid he'd find out and punish me for telling you."

"He's gone now," Stefan said. "Tell me now. Tell me what you want me to know, what you're ready for. Just tell me."

She shook her head. "N-No . . . I don't think I can . . ."

"Yes, you can," Stefan nodded. "It'll make you feel so much better." She sighed. "Now, you said it was about a month after your wedding that it started."

Taking a few deep breaths, she nodded. "We got married at the end of my freshman year in college. At the time he was in his second year of medical school but he ended up skipping ahead. We didn't take a honeymoon because he couldn't take time off at the hospital so . . . I took a few summer courses." She looked up. "When we met he wasn't like he is now. He was kind and charming and he loved to take care of me." She sighed. "He almost had me convinced to drop out of school but Jer reminded me that Mom and Dad wanted us to finish school."

"So you stayed in school," Stefan said. "And . . . Phillip didn't like that?"

"Not really," Elena nodded, wincing at the use of his name. "I think he just wanted a trophy wife to stay home all the time. Which, well, is how it ended up." She sighed. "That was really the first thing that separated us."

"Why did the abuse start?" Stefan asked.

"Um," She sighed, looking down. "We went to a charity dinner event that the hospital where he worked was hosting. He had a few too many drinks – as always. I wasn't really feeling well – there was a bug going around the campus – so I wasn't drinking. When we got home he started yelling at me – why didn't I drink any alcohol all night and how his coworkers thought I was pregnant and how it wasn't the right time to have a baby and . . . . and he hit me."

Stefan visibly tensed. He didn't think it was going to be this hard to hear this.

Elena gulped. Stefan lay his hand atop hers. She let out a deep breath. "He immediately apologized and felt really guilty." Elena sighed. "He even cried, begged me to forgive him and it would never happen again."

"But it did," Stefan said.

Elena nodded. "Usually it was only when he was drunk or angry . . . but then it happened more often." Stefan waited for her to continue but she was silent. He could see the tears pool in the corner of her eyes and her heart began to pound in remembered fear.

Stefan didn't let go of her hand as he moved closer to her. She tensed at first but then relaxed against his shoulder.

"A year and a half later I actually was pregnant. He wasn't happy at first but he got used to it. He even stopped hitting me." Elena sighed. "But . . . then he lost a promotion at work to his rival and he lost a patient he'd had for years. He started drinking even more, going out the nights he wasn't working. I'm pretty sure that's when the affairs started." She looked away, sighing. “He was angry all the time and nothing I did or said could make him happy. The pregnancy was hard enough because of all the trauma my last year of high school . . ." She trailed off. She didn't have to explain. Between all the times she'd been bitten, attacked, or physically wounded after he came to town he was amazed she'd been able to conceive at all. "The doctor warned me about overexerting and stressing myself from day one. I was three months along when Phillip lost that patient and, well, himself really."

She paused, sighing. "It's okay." Stefan whispered, reached behind her to rub her back soothingly. "Take your time."

She sighed again. "He changed, became even more angry and rough and violent. At first I thought he was grieving or feeling guilt for losing that patient but . . . it never stopped."

"Did he ever hit you while you were pregnant?" Stefan wished he could go back in time and change things somehow so she wouldn't have to go through this.

Elena nodded, a tear falling from her eye. "B-But never on my stomach . . . not that it scared me any less. I begged him to stop, told him I'd leave and never come back and he'd never have to see me again. He wouldn't let me leave, though, and he didn't stop." She paused for a moment, taking a few deep breaths. She gulped. "The reason that Millie has asthma is because she was born so premature. And she was early because of h-him."

Stefan tensed. When she'd told him Millie was born early the reasons hadn't really occurred to him. He just thought it was normal or an accident or something simple.

"We were fighting and he pushed me and I fell hard against the counter in the kitchen," Elena whispered, another tear finding its way down her face. "I almost lost Millie but she was a little fighter and she made it." Her hand briefly brushed her stomach and she sniffled. "I guess I wasn't so lucky this time . . ."

Stefan's heart ached for her. He'd wished a million and one times or more that he'd done more – anything – to protect her during the attack. Thinking back now to that week after he came back he had noticed little things that should've tipped him off to her pregnancy. He should've known, he should've paid better attention to her heartbeat and the fact that there were two of them.

"After Millie was born it only made things worse. Neither of us were getting any sleep and even when he wasn't at work – which wasn't often – he wouldn't help me. Not with Millie or the house or the errands," She sniffled, her breath coming out strained.

Stefan pulled her into his arms, holding her. She buried her nose in his chest, crying into his shirt. "Sssshhh, you're okay." Her cries deepened for a while until finally she was able to breathe. "Do you want to stop?"

She shook her head, sniffling. "I need to talk to someone." Stefan nodded. She breathed in and out for a bit before sitting up. Letting out a deep breath, she sighed. "When Millie was about a year old, something really changed. I don't know what it was or why . . . but he became obsessive. I couldn't do anything or go anywhere without him having to know everything. Unless I was with him, the only places I was really allowed to go were the grocery store, the gas station, school, and the doctor. But, of course, both mine and Millie's doctors were good friends of his."

"They never said anything about your bruises?" Stefan asked.

Elena shook her head. "He told them that I had behavioral problems and that I would hurt myself to get attention. They weren't supposed to say anything in front of me."

Stefan sighed. He couldn't believe the depth of Phillip's abuse. He'd listened for long enough. It was time to get every detail and fact so he could help her heal. "When did the sexual abuse start?"

Elena flinched, "The same time he got obsessive, just after Millie's first birthday. It was around that time that Alaric told us he was sick – brain tumors."

Stefan nodded. Jeremy told him back when Elena had still been unconscious. The younger Gilbert had said it'd been a slow process and Elena took care of the former history teacher the most. Jeremy also said she'd been the one who'd taken the loss the hardest. Now, listening to her side it made sense that Phillip became obsessive. "He was jealous because you were taking care of Alaric – who is of no blood relation to you – spending, I'd imagine, more time taking care of Ric than you did with him."

Elena nodded. "How did you―"

"Jeremy told me," Stefan shrugged. "The rest I put together on my own."

"We fought a lot," She looked down, not meeting Stefan's eyes. "He told me 'we' were 'bored' and maybe we should 'try something new' to fix it. We did . . . but he was always in control just like with everything else in our life, he had all the say and I was just there." More tears leaked from her eyes as she looked up. "It always hurts, Stefan, a-and if I didn't do something right he makes it hurt worse . . ." She started heaving, water flowing like a river from her eyes.

"Hey," She was too caught up in the memories to hear him. He wrapped his arms around her tight. "He's gone." She sobbed "Elena, he's gone and he is never coming back. You never have to see or think about him ever again." She looked up, still crying. "I promise you that he will never hurt you or Millie ever again. Okay. I won't let him."

A weak smile curled her lips. "Stefan?"

"Yes?" He said.

"Please don't ever leave me again," She sniffled, holding on to the fabric of his shirt.

"Never," He nodded, squeezing her shoulder. She sighed, reveling in the comfort of his embrace. "I'll be here in whatever way you want me to be for as long as you want."

"I love you, Stefan," She breathed out. "I'm not anywhere near ready to be anything for you but I love you. There won't ever be anyone else for me. There never has been."

Stefan nodded. "I'm not going anywhere. We won't be anything but what you're ready for. I love you for who you are and I don't want to rush into anything that either of us are ready for." Her eyes teared up again and his brow wrinkled in concern. "What's wrong?"

"This can't be real," She cried. "It has to be a dream."

"It's real," He smiled. "From now on I'm going to take care of you and Millie. You won't have to worry about anything ever again." He hugged her, holding her tight. She rested her head on his shoulder and it didn't take long for her to drift off into a peaceful, rested sleep.

* * *

Two months later Elena awoke to the pleasant smell of gingerbread and french vanilla coffee. She smiled, stretching and yawning. As she reached out she was surprised to find that she was alone in bed. Judging by the aromas and foot steps and hushed voices and laughter she was the last one up. She leaned over and picked up the empty pillow. Covering her face she inhaled equal parts smells from her daughter and the love of her life. She giggled, grinning from ear to ear like a child.

She pushed off the covers, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Anxiousness buzzed within her as she stood – and she was still giggling. The laughter from downstairs got louder as she put on her robe and slid her feet into her slippers. She opened her nightstand drawer and pulled out the small gift wrapped box.

She chuckled as she heard Millie's adorable laughter, leaving the room and descending the stairs. The aromas filled her senses as she entered the kitchen. Just before she crossed the door, she put the small box in the pocket of her robe.

"Mommy!"

Her little one collided with her in a crushing hug, giggling. "Good morning, sweetie." Elena chuckled. She looked around the room, seeing the batter-splattered pots, pans, silverware, and bowls. "Are we having fun making a big mess?" Millie nodded, grinning mischieviously.

"We'll clean it up. Right, squirt?" Stefan laughed, mussing up the girl's hair. Millie giggled. "Morning, 'Lena." He leaned over to give her a quick peck on the cheek. "How was your sleep?"

"Uneventful," She smile. It had been the first night in months that she'd slept nightmare free. "Thank you." He smiled knowingly, looking very relieved.

"Mommy, we made gingerbread pancakes!" Millie told her.

"I see that," Elena laughed. "I'm sure they'll be very tasty." Millie let go of her and hopped up on one of the island stools. Stefan stood behind Elena but was careful not to brush up against her or spook her.

"Mommy, guess what today is?" Millie quizzed her.

Elena turned her head and smirked at Stefan, sharing a secret smile. She turned back to her daughter. "Um . . . I dunno, baby. What day is it?"

Millie's jaw dropped and she turned to Stefan, "Stefan, Mommy doesn't remember."

"She doesn't?" Stefan said. "But I thought Mommies remembered everything."

"Hmm . . ." Elena feigned confusion. "Why don't you look in my robe pockets. Maybe there's something in there that'll remind me."

The girl was doubtful at first, staring at her mother as if she were nuts. Then, she smiled. "Okay!" She jumped off the chair and dug her hand deep in the first pocket of Elena's robe. After searching thoroughly, she started to pull her hand out.

"Find anything?" Elena said. Pulling her hand out, Millie shook her head.

"Try the other pocket," Stefan very gently rested his hand on Elena's shoulder. She didn't flinch and actually relaxed against him. Millie nodded, excited. She dug her hand in the other pocket, her face immediately lighting up.

"What did you find?" Elena said.

Millie pulled her hand out, the small box barely fitting in her hand. Her eyes were wide with excitement as she held it up. The tag on the box said 'Happy Birthday, Millie. Love, Mommy and Stefan.' "Silly Mommy, you did remember!"

Elena shrugged. "I didn't put that there." Millie raised her eyebrow. Elena turned to Stefan. "Babe, did you put that there?"

"Nope," Stefan shook his head. "Maybe Santa put it there."

"It's not Christmas yet," Millie said.

"Maybe he decided to drop off something a little early for you." Elena suggested. Millie's mouth opened to form an 'O'. "Maybe he saw that you've been such a good girl this year and you earned something special."

"What is it?" Millie examined the pretty red and green wrapping paper and perfect red bow.

"Guess you'll just have to open it up to find out." Stefan said.

Eagerly, the young girl ripped the paper off to find a purple-felt box jewelry box. Millie's eyes brightened. She opened the box, gasping.

"What'cha got, little one?" Elena smiled.

Her jaw still very nearly on the floor, Millie's entire face smiled. "It's the charm bracelet I wanted!"

"Oh, wow," Elena said, remembering just days before when she and Stefan had gone to pick it out. There was a charm for all of Millie's favorite activities, foods, animals, and other things. "Do you like it, sweetie?"

"Mommy, this is the best present ever!" Millie squealed.

"We're gla―I mean, I bet Santa's glad you like it. Happy Birthday, sweetie," Elena said.

"Yeah, Happy Birthday, kiddo," Stefan added.

"I'm gonna go show my dollies and teddy bears! They'll be so jealous . . ." Millie jumped up and down on her way out of the room.

Elena and Stefan chuckled. Elena leaned her back against Stefan's chest. "Good find, hon. She loves it."

"It's just as beautiful as she is," Stefan kissed the back of her head.

"Hey," She turned around to face him. "Thank you for last night – for your patience and love and support."

"Anything for you," He gingerly wrapped his arms around her shoulders, smiling when she stayed relaxed. "Are you sure you're okay, though? Was that too much?"

She shook her head. "No. I feel good and I think we are definitely making progress." Last night was the first time she'd been intimate with someone other than her ex-husband since, well, since before Stefan left in high school. And even though they hadn't gotten much past kissing and some light touching, it was still a milestone. Normally, she'd have a panic attack at the slightest brush of the arm or the smallest amount of skin contact.

"I just want you to be comfortable," He said in that adorable worried tone of his.

"With you, I'm always comfortable," She sighed contently.

"Mommy!" Millie yelled from upstairs. "Mommy, Stefan, come play with me!"

The two turned to each other, smiling. Hand in hand, they walked the stairs to Millie's room.

* * *

The next day, everyone was coming over to the Boarding House for a Christmas/seventh birthday celebration for Millie. The day before and the day of, Stefan and Elena cleaned the house, cooked a ton of food, and – after Millie was asleep for the night – finished wrapping presents.

The day of, they put Millie down for a nap in the midmorning so she wouldn't be cranky or overstimulated later. And while Millie napped they put in a little bedroom time of their own – though neither of them slept.

At promptly two in the afternoon their first guests arrived – Damon and Caroline. The two were renting their own place a few miles down the road as to give Stefan, Elena, and Millie space to get reaquainted and become stronger as a family. Damon held a very nice – very old – bottle of wine and a bag of presents while Caroline had a large platter of cookies. Millie immediately whisked Caroline upstairs to show her the new bracelet and invite her to a tea party with her dolls and bears.

A few minutes later Bonnie and Jeremy pulled in the driveway. Jack – always full of energy – ran into and around the house as his dad carried in presents and his mom held his precious seven-month-old brother. Caroline and Elena ooh-ed and aww-ed over baby Danny and finished the food while the men turned on the football game.

Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door. Elena went to answer it, surprised to find Tyler, Matt, a tall woman with blonde hair, and a young blonde boy about Millie's age. Elena was speechless. Stefan walked behind her, his hands barely touching her waist.

"Hey guys, glad you could make it," Stefan held his hand out and shook both Tyler and Matt's hands.

Matt nodded, "Thanks for the invite. It's great to have the old gang back together again."

"Yeah," Tyler chuckled. Later we should pull out the football for old times sake."

"Definitely," Stefan nodded.

"Stefan, Elena, I'd like you to meet my wife Rachel," Matt smiled. Rachel returned his smile. "And this is our son, Joey."

"It's nice to meet you," Rachel held out her hand and shook both Stefan and Elena's. "Matt's told me so many stories about all of you."

"And then I told her all the 'let's embarrass Matt' ones," Tyler laughed.

Stefan, Elena, and Rachel chuckled. "Look out Tyler, we've got quite a few embarrassing ones on you, too." Elena winked at Matt.

"Come on, let's all go inside. Everyone else is here already." Stefan said.

"Oh, and don't worry Rachel already knows about the supernatural," Matt said. "Her mom and grandma were witches." Stefan and Elena nodded.

"I'm not, though. I guess it skipped a generation," Rachel shrugged.

"You and Bonnie'll already have so much to talk about," Elena nodded. "She's a witch too."

"I'm actually looking forward to meeting her. My family's been telling stories about the powerful Bennet witches for generations," Rachel said.

They walked into the living room where everyone was settled. "Hey everyone, look who's here!"

Introductions were made all around. Millie showed off her new bracelet to everybody – multiple times and to the annoyance of the young boys. Eventually Millie and Joey and Jack became as close as the three musketeers, running around and playing and laughing. The adults watched them with amusement, remembering when they'd been younger children. A little later they opened presents and laughed and hugged all around. The kids played with their gifts and Stefan and Jeremy cleaned up the excess mess.

A few hours later Bonnie put Daniel down for a nap upstairs and soon after dinner was ready. Everyone went crazy over Stefan's Italian style ham and Elena's Gilbert family recipes for stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberries, and green bean casserole. As they ate they laughed and chatted and got caught up and actually joked about all the bad things that had happened in their lives. They remembered all those they'd lost: Grayson and Miranda, Vicki, John, Jenna, Isobel, Alaric, and Elena's miscarrage.

Not long after dinner, the kids were crashed in the living room while the adults had coffee in the living room. Elena leaned into Stefan on the couch, his hand on her knee. Millie lay comfortably wedged between them, fast asleep. Damon and Caroline were both on the recliner, blissfully lost in each other. Bonnie now cradled little Danny in her arms on the loveseat as Jeremy rested his arm around her neck. Jack lay on the floor at his parent's feet, softly snoring. Tyler and Matt and Rachel and Joey had left right after dinner to meet up with their mothers.

"So," Caroline said as she grazed the skin on Damon's knuckles. "When is everything finalized?"

"Five more months," Elena answered, entwining her fingers with Stefan's. The contact calmed her after the long day and Stefan relished in her ease.

"That's a long time," Jeremy observed.

"Well, neither the lawyers nor the judge can figure out why he's so eager and determined to cut us out of his life and yet give us everything." Elena smirked, stroking a strand of Millie's hair as her little girl slept.

Damon chuckled, smirking in his typical devious way. "Yep, that's my handiwork."

There was a twinkle of something in Stefan's eyes that Elena couldn't place. Whatever it was, he definitely had something up his sleeve.

"And Millie's adjusting well with everything?" Bonnie asked as she rocked Danny in her arms.

"She is," Elena nodded. "Better than I expected, actually. She adores Stefan and she loves living in this big, mysterious house."

"And how are you guys doing?" Caroline smiled. "Back in the saddle yet?" Damon smirked.

"Caroline!" Bonnie scolded. Caroline shrugged. Bonnie turned to Elena. "She meant that sincerely, I'm sure." Damon snorted, chuckling. Jeremy scrunched his nose. Caroline looked devious.

Elena gulped, blushing, burrowing her face slightly in Stefan's chest. Stefan held on to her hand.

"I'll take that as a yes," Caroline nodded victoriously.

Stefan rubbed her back, "It's a work in progress." Was all he said. Elena's blush lessened slightly and she sat up.

Bonnie cleared her throat. "What about you, Stefan? Any plans for your future?"

Stefan's eye twinkled and Elena was definitely sure that he was up to something. But what was it? "Right now we're just taking it slow. We'd like to get stabilized with Millie and the divorce and everything before we rush ourselves. We both agreed that Millie comes first in everything."

Elena nodded, "We don't want to do anything that's going to scar her. She came out of this more or less unscathed and I'd like to keep it that way." She glanced down at Millie and over to Stefan, smiling. "Millie and Stefan are the ones who are getting me through this. I wake up in the morning and the memories aren't so bad because I get to come downstairs and make happy new ones with the two most important people in my life." She pushed a few strands of hair out of Millie's face, smiling. Stefan rested his hand lightly on her shoulder.

"Aww, that's so sweet . . ." Caroline swooned, holding Damon's hand. Damon, though seemingly unaffected by the corniness, still squeezed Caroline's hand back. Bonnie glanced up at Jeremy who leaned in and kissed her sweetly.

The rest of the day was calm and happy and everything the group could have wished for. They laughed and cried and shared their favorite memories from over the years. Caroline and Damon regaled them with a few stories from their travels while looking for Stefan. Stefan even had a few stories to share – of course, they were of the non-ripper variety. Bonnie and Jeremy recalled some of Jack's cutest moments and Elena chimed in with a few of Millie's.

* * *

By about 8:30 pm Bonnie and Jeremy decided it was time to bring their little ones home. Caroline and Damon were almost too busy necking on the recliner to notice that their friends were leaving. Stefan broke them up and told them to get a room – to which Damon and Caroline swiftly said their goodbyes and disappeared out the door in blur. Bonnie, Jeremy, Jack, and Danny followed close behind. Once they were all gone, Stefan closed the door and Elena leaned into him in a hug.

"How was your first holiday as a human again?" Elena asked, looking up at him.

"Perfect," Stefan leaned down to kiss her briefly. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Elena yawned, sighing. Stefan smirked. "Tired, babe?"

Elena shrugged. "Not really. I mean, a little, but I don't want this day to end."

Stefan let her go and walked over to the couch where Millie was fast asleep. Elena smiled thoughtfully as she bent down to gently kiss the little girl on the top of the head before lifting her in his arms.

He smiled at her as she turned out all the lights downstairs and they headed up to the second floor. "You okay?" He whispered as they walked into Millie's room. Elena nodded. He gently set the girl on her bed and Elena pulled the covers over her tiny body. It wouldn't hurt for Millie to sleep in her clothes one night. Elena feared that changing her clothes would wake her and then they'd be in for a cranky night.

Elena knelt down beside the bed, tucking the covers under her daughter's body and kissing her forehead. Stefan, too, bent down to kiss Millie's forehead. Then Stefan and Elena left the room hand in hand. Elena relaxed her head on Stefan's shoulder as they went up the stairs to their bedroom – Stefan's old room.

"'Lena?" Stefan watched her open a drawer and pull out her pajamas – a pair of sweat-shorts and a tanktop.

She turned. "Hmmm?"

"Back in Millie's room, what happened Are you sure you're okay? You seemed . . . different." Stean's eyebrow creased with worry.

"It's nothing," She shrugged, frowning.

Stefan reached out and lay his hand on the bare skin of her arm. The contact sent shivers up to her shoulder and down her back. Reacting to her jolt, he stepped back and pulled his arm back. "Sorry . . ."

"Stefan, I'm okay," She insisted, laying her hand on top of his and entwined their fingers. "I know that you worry about me and I promised to be more open . . ." She smiled. "What we just did . . . I've never had that kind of day."

Stefan's brow creased, "Christmas with friends?"

"No," She shook her head. She wrapped her arms around his middle, raising her head to meet his eyes. "We put Millie to bed, together." Stefan nodded, understanding. "Since Millie was born, it's just been me here to do that. H-He was only around a handful of times for Millie's bedtime and even then he rushed her, pushed her to bed. Those rare nights usually ended with him angry, Millie in tears, and me stuck in the middle." She leaned up to kiss him. "You have no idea how beautiful you are to me right now . . ."

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, reveling in the comfort he was able to give her. She soaked in all the strength he gave off. They stood like that for a while, wrapped in the comfort of each other's love.

That day was a day of firsts for both of them. It was their first holiday together since high school. It was Elena's first holiday without her husband – and without the abuse that he doled out. It was Stefan's first holiday as a human again and his first ever holiday as the central paternal figure of the household. It was the first holiday Elena could actually enjoy and celebrate with her daughter, feeling like normal since before her own mother died. It was also Stefan's first happy holiday with this brother since before the events of 1864 – well, since before their mother died really.

Coincidently, it was also – later after their hugging session – the first night that they were completely reunited as lovers in over nine years . . .

* * *

It was much later that Stefan awoke to find that he was alone in the bed. Panicking, he bolted up and threw on his boxers. "Elena!" He whispered as he searched the house. She wasn't in either of the bathrooms or the kitchen or the living room or the basement or the hall . . . or anywhere else . . .

. . . his last room to search was Millie's and, sure enough, she stood quietly in the doorway dressed in just her shorts and tanktop.

He stood just behind her, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist. She relaxed and turned her head. "Hey." She whispered, smiling.

He sighed, whispering in her ear, "You almost gave me a heart attack."

He could feel her chuckled as she closed Millie's door and led him back up to their room. Once inside, she closed their door and turned the light on. "Sorry . . . I couldn't get back to sleep."

His brow creased in his worried way. "Nightmares?"

She shook her head, smiling. "Just happy thoughts." He sank to the bed in relief, sighing. He ran his hands through her hair and let out a deep breath. "Worried I panicked and took off?" She smirked.

"Um . . . a little," He admitted.

She shook her head, sitting down next to him and laying her hand on his thigh. "Today has been beyond amazing, especially the last part . . ." She smiled suggestively.

He smiled too, resting his hand over hers."I just want you to be okay."

"Stefan, I love you for worrying about me but I'm telling you that I'm okay. I want to be with you in every way and I wasn't uncomfortable." She winked, sliding her hand high on his leg. "Quite opposite of uncomfortable, actually." Stefan's breath hitched and Elena giggled.

"What's so funny?" He asked her, convinced she wasn't panicking or freaking out anymore.

"I just realized that whenever we're out in public together I'm totally going to be that kind of woman who dumped her husband for a younger man."

They both lay back on the bed next to each other on their sides, facing each other. "You do realize that I'm am still older than you by quite a lot." Stefan circled a pattern on her bare shoulder around the tank top strap.

"Yeah we know that but other people just see a hot high school aged boy and an older soccer mom." Elena sighed.

"A hot soccer mom," Stefan added, earning a blush from Elena. "Besides, everyone in town knows we went to high school together."

"True . . . but if we go anywhere out of town or around new people they won't know that," Elena said.

"Does that bother you?" He hugged her.

"No . . ." She shook her head. "In a way I've been wishing for this everyday for the last nine years and now . . . I finally have it. We have it." She pushed her fingers through his hair. "I am so happy, Stefan, and it's because of you. I don't care what other people will think . . . they can think what they want. We're together, a family, and that's all that matters."

Stefan smiled, turning over to reach into his nightstand. He pulled out a small black box. "Okay, so I know this might be a bit soon and sudden . . ." Elena lifted her head to face him, confusion in her eyes. ". . . but I want you to keep an open mind and remember that I love you and I always have and I always will."

"Stefan, what's―?" Before she could say anymore, Stefan opened the box. Her eyes widened and she gasped as she took in the small diamond ring in front of her. "Oh my god . . ."

"I know your divorce isn't even final yet and we only just got back together and we've spent all these years apart and I'm human now . . ." He took a deep breath, still not used to having to breathe. ". . . but I'm not saying let's get married now. I've had this ring for a while . . . since our junior year before the masquerade ball." She nodded, still trying to catch a breath herself. "I just want you to know that I love you and I love Millie and I want to spend the rest of my natural life with the two of you."

Elena felt her breath hitch and she sat up, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. The tears puddled and started dripping down her face.

Stefan sat up as well, flabbergasted by her reaction. He was stunned into silence, unable to form a thought or word. The ring box felt heavy in his hand, almost like a lead weight. He searched Elena's tearful eyes, hoping to God he was having a nightmare or hallucination.

However reality sunk in when she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly. He expected the worst – a break up or restraining order or both – based on the way she was continuing to cry on his shoulder. He couldn't help but reciprocate the hug, wrapping his arms around her waist. After a few moments she let go and leaned back. Her face was blurry with tears but . . .

She was smiling.

She held up her hand, staring up at him with a smile. When he didn't move she frowned. "Stefan what's wrong with you? Don't you want this?" He was confused by her words and just stared at her in shock. He was sure she'd say yes indefinitely. Then her eyes widened. "Oh . . . crap. Did I not . . .?" Stefan continued to stare at her eyes, not even hearing what she said. "Stefan!" She shouted and he blinked, frowning on her. "Stefan, the answer is yes. Yes, I want to marry you some day!" This time he definitely heard her words. "Sorry . . . I was just so happy and excited that I forgot to say yes."

She giggled and Stefan let out a deep breath. He nodded, his lips curling into a smile. Broken from his trance, it finally set in that she accepted his proposal. Letting out a deep sigh of relief, he immediately took the ring out of the box and slid it on Elena's waiting finger. It fit like a glove . . . as if it had always been there.

"We're engaged . . ." She whispered, her eyes wide and her smile radiant. She engulfed him in her embrace again, relaxing into his hold. He held her tight and she melted into him. "Stefan?"

He leaned back, still holding her. "Yes?"

"Let's get married now . . . as soon as the divorce is officially through and we can." Elena sighed happily. She turned over so she was facing him. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

He nodded. "As soon as legally possible." They kissed and it felt like heaven.

Her heart beat rapidly as she blurted these next words: "And I want to have your baby someday . . . you deserve to be a father." The thought of someday carrying Stefan's child made her womb practically ache in anticipation. She shuddered, still smiling, and brought his lips down to hers for a passionate kiss.

He groaned and his hands reached down between them to caress her flat tummy. "Let's make one now . . ." She shivered, feeling the huskiness in his voice vibrate down to her toes and back up to the top of her head and settle in between her legs. They parted and he flipped them over so that she was flat on her back and he hovered over her.

Before she could even comprehend his words, she felt a rush of cold air and discovered that Stefan had swiftly pushed her tank top above her stomach just under her breasts. He was now laying delicate yet passionate kisses over the bare skin of her flat tummy.

"God . . . I bet you're so sexy when you're pregnant . . ." Stefan's voice vibrated over through her skin again.

For only a moment she remembered being pregnant with Millie . . . her ex husband had been constantly berating her for her weight or eating habits or inability to be touched because everything hurt so much because of either the pregnancy or the beatings . . .

"Hey, what's wrong?" She blinked, noticing that Stefan was sitting up with his arm around her waist. He was staring in her eyes, a worried expression on his face.

"N-Nothing . . . just," She sighed. "Bad memories."

"Hey, come here," Stefan pulled her up into a sitting position. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face and used her thumb to wipe a stray tear out of her eye. "There is nothing that you could ever, ever do that will make me not want you, okay? Nothing. Even when we're old and grey I won't be able to get enough of you." His words touched deep in her soul and her lip curled into a small smile. "I can't wait until you're pregnant – more to love. Especially because you'll be carrying a piece of me. Short hair, long hair, skinny, curvy, bald, brunette, blonde – I don't care. As long as it's you I'm smitten. Got it?"

She sniffled, nodding. Once again – like he always did – his words calmed and assured her.

"You had me since before we know each other, did you know that? Even before you were born," Stefan kissed her forehead. "Katherine was just a copy of you. You're the real thing."

"Stefan, she's been around longer," Elena sighed.

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. Before I knew what she was and that she was with Damon too things were different – she was different. But it was just a lie. She presented herself as this kind, loving, thoughtful, shy girl and I fell for the girl I thought she was. The truth is, though, that she was none of those things. But you are . . . you're the girl I've been waiting my entire life to fall in love with, Elena. You. And now that I've finally got you again, I'll never let you go. I love you."

She sighed happily and kissed him. "I love you too, Stefan – so much. Thank you for saving me . . . again." They both chuckled. He pulled her to him for a hug, holding her as tightly as he could without hurting her.

"If you're not ever ready for something or don't feel like talking about it, let me know. Please? We've got the rest of our lives and I want you to be okay with all of this. I want you to be happy."

She nodded. "I am . . . all the way. I want you and I want this life."

"Even a new baby?" Stefan winked.

"Definitely," She nodded, pulling his lips back down to hers. "Now where were we?"

A sly grin covered Stefan's face from ear to ear. He reached down to the tie on her shorts and she reached for his boxers. "Mmm . . . let's make a baby, baby . . ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the epilogue left!


	8. Epilogue: Feel The Beat Again Stronger Than Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So . . . this is it; the end. For the moment no sequels are planned but one never knows. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! Oh, and the lyrics at the very beginning are from the fic title "Where'd You Go" by Fort Minor and the other lyrics and title of the chapter are from Jennifer Lopez's amazing song "Until It Beats No More."

_. . . here singing where'd you go, I miss you so _

_ Seems like it's been forever that you've been gone . . . _

Elena froze as the words blared from her car radio as she turned the ignition. The moon shone up in the sky and a thick thick sheet of rain covered the empty parking lot for miles. She hadn't even closed the car door or set down her books or her laptop or her coffee. Words from long ago (but never forgotten) echoed in her ears: "He just sacrificed everything to save his brother. Including you . . .". Her heart constricted painfully and tears welled up in her eyes.

It didn't matter that next week was the two year anniversary of the day she'd found out the love of her life was probably never coming back to her. It didn't matter how many tears she'd shed or days and nights on end she'd spent sobbing or mornings where she could barely muster enough strength to get out of bed let alone go on with her life. It didn't matter that even though she was in her freshman year of college none of it mattered because he would never be there to see her accomplishments and goals. Nothing really mattered anymore because Stefan was never coming back. Sure she could fake it and zombie her way through school and life but all she thought of was Stefan.

_. . . where'd you go, I miss you so _

_ Seems like it's been forever that you've been gone _

_ Please come back home . . . _

The song continued and Elena gulped: it was too much. She couldn't take it. The lyrics were too close to home, too personal, too dead on. Her arms went limp and everything dropped. She didn't even care that she'd just dropped her coffee all over everything. A sob escaped her lips. No . . . she had to get out of here. She couldn't take it anymore, the song brought back too many memories . . .

. . . late night ferris wheel rides and double dates and sneaking around and clinging to one another while their world collapsed around them . . .

She scrambled out of the car and started stumbling across the dark, rainy, parking lot. Her tall boots flapped against the skin of her calves and her heart pounded in her chest. The rain soaked her to the bone but she didn't stop. She could still hear the song from her car and it broke her heart all the more.

_ I want you to know it's a little fucked up that I'm stuck here waitin' _

_ No longer debatin', tired of sittin' and hatin' and makin' these excuses _

_ For why you're not around and feelin' so useless _

She broke out into a full-fledged run – well, as much as one could run with lack of sleep and exhaustion and too much caffeine – across the rainy parking lot. Her wet hair bounced in her face and she cried out when the toes of her left foot collided with something hard and cement-like. Her ankle twisted and she crumpled to the ground, clutching her foot. Pain jolted through her continuously and she cried again. She searched her pocket for her cell phone but defeat set in when she caught sight of a thousand pieces of broken plastic in a puddle a little ways away – her cell phone must have flown out of her pocket.

The pain grew unbearable and she curled up on the cold cement in a ball. Her breath quickened and it was becoming hard to get any breath out at all. The rain soaked deeper into her skin and the cold was starting to hurt worse than her ankle.

"Excuse me?"

The unfamiliar voice didn't really register much as Elena lay there in a cold, frigid pain. Tears flooded her vision and she wished Stefan were there to help her and comfort her and keep her warm.

"Hey, are you okay? That was quite the fall . . ."

Again Elena ignored the voice, lost in her little world of shattering pain. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine that Stefan were with her now. She imagined him pulling her into his arms and stroking her hair and kissing her and promising to make all the pain go away.

"Miss? Don't worry, I'm a doctor . . . you're in perfectly capable hands . . ."

Elena cried again, knowing that if Stefan were here he would make the pain go away immediately by feeding her blood. Instantly her mind was flooded with images of her collapsed on the porch of her parent's lakehouse, Elijah's newly-daggered corpse right beside her. Then Stefan was by her side in an instant feeding her his blood to heal her stomach wound.

"I've called an ambulance as backup. They'll be here shortly, okay? Until then I'm going to take good care of you." The strange voice continued. "Oh yeah, my name's Phillip. Phillip Thompson . . ."

_ It seems that one thing has been true all along: _

_ You don't really know what you've got until it's gone . . . _

Those last lyrics were the last thing that registered in Elena's mind as the pain and memories became too much. The stranger named Phillip Thompson faded into darkness and a new set of lyrics flooded her mind—

_. . . then you crashed through the door to my soul _

_ Put back all the pieces and made me whole _

_ I was living in the past, oh no _

_ Now I'm never looking back, never looking back _

_ 'Cause I'm alive, I can breathe, I can feel, I believe _

_ And there ain't no doubt about it, there ain't no doubt about it _

_ I'm in love and it's all because of you _

_ I was fading but you pulled me through _

_ 'Cause I'm awake, I survived; I was hurt, thought I'd die _

_ And there ain't no doubt about it; it's love and I have found it _

_ Feel the beat again, stronger than before _

_ I'm gonna give you my heart _

_ Until it beats no more . . . _

The words from the song gently stirred Elena awake from the painful memory, curving her lips into a gentle smile. She yawned, reaching back to stretch only to be met with a pulling pain deep in her stomach. She froze, a frown on her face.

"Whoa, slow down there Mrs. Salvatore," An unfamiliar woman's voice coached her. "We wouldn't want to make your stay here any longer. I imagine you real anxious to get back to them beautiful babies and that saint of a husband of yours." The strange woman's deep southern accent was so soothing . . .

Elena yawned again, sighing. The music from the radio ended and a radio dj started talking and announcing the next song: "Been A Long Day" by Rosi Golan. She opened her eyes and took a good look around her . . . realizing exactly where she actually was. Her eyes widened, confusion and fear setting in.

"'s alright, Mrs. Salvatore. Your doctor said you'd be a little bit out of it. I'll go get him for you." The nurse helped Elena sit up comfortably and left the room.

Elena looked around the room again, smiling when she noticed multiple vases of brightly-colored flowers and hand-drawn pictures taped on all the walls. Beside her on the bedside table were frames with pictures of all her family.

A few moments later the sound of crying echoed from the hallway and a young woman – another nurse – poked her head in the room and smiled. Seeing that Elena was awake, the nurse continued in the room pushing a plastic cart. The nurse wore bright pink scrub pants and a yellow scrub top with flowers on it. "I'm really sorry, Mrs. Salvatore, but this little one just couldn't wait any longer. She's an insistent one and it says on her chart that you and your husband don't want her to be bottle fed . . ."

Elena nodded, her smile beaming. "It's okay. I was anxious to meet her anyway." Since she didn't remember much – let alone delivering – she assumed she'd had an emergency c-section.

The young nurse "awwed" as she reached inside the cart. "Oh my, she is so adorable." She gently placed the bundle in Elena's waiting arms. The newborn immediately stopped crying the second she was in her mother's arms. The nurse smiled, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm just really emotional right now. I just started this job and I found out I'm pregnant and I'm freaking out and you're such a champ with six kids . . . my god she's adorable!"

Elena chuckled. "You're going to be fine." The nurse nodded, though Elena could tell she was still nervous. "Um . . . do you think you could tell me what happened? The last thing I remember is being at home and getting ready for bed and . . ."

The nurse's eyes widened and she nodded. "Oh wow . . . aren't you scared?"

"Um . . . I was when I first woke up but now . . ." Elena looked down, holding the newborn's wiggly little hand. "I just would like a few blanks filled in."

"Well, my shift just started but . . . I heard some of the other nurses talking and . . ." The nurse said. Elena nodded, waiting for her to continue. "They were saying something about a woman who had a high-risk pregnancy and who was found bleeding out . . ."

"That would be me," Elena nodded. "Babies numbers four and five– the twins – caused some complications and the doctor wasn't sure this one would make it." Elena looked down at the newborn who now started fussing again.

"Well, I guess now that she's seen you she's hungry," The young nurse giggled.

"Oh yeah, she knows," Elena nodded, smiling. "The other five were the same way."

"Aww . . ." The nurse melted. "You're such a good mom . . ."

Elena chuckled, "Can I get that in writing for when they're teenagers?" The nurse laughed with her as she helped Elena adjust to feed her newest little bundle.

A little while later she was done and Elena held her against her shoulder to burp her. The baby cooed and not long after fell asleep in Elena's arms.

Suddenly the door opened and her husband burst in. "Oh my god, I was so worried . . ." He rushed to her side, laying a hand on both mother and child.

"Stefan, we're okay," Elena assured him.

"I'll give you three some time. Let us know if you need anything," The young nurse smiled.

"Thank you," Elena smiled back. "You'll be a great mom too." The nurse beamed as she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Stefan hugged her gently, kissing her forehead. "I just got back to my hotel from the meeting and there was a message on my phone from Bonnie . . ."

"It's okay," Elena held on to the fabric of his shirt with her free hand, the baby between them.

Stefan shook his head, "I shouldn't have gone to that meeting in Atlanta. I should've told our editor that it could wait until after the baby was born . . ."

"Stefan, calm down. I'm fine, the baby is fine. We're okay," Elena assured him again.

He let out a deep breath. "What happened?" He gently rubbed their little one's back.

She shrugged. "I think I bled out. I haven't talked to the doctor yet and I don't remember much."

"Bonnie just told me that you had the baby and something was wrong and I should come home right away . . ." Stefan said. "She said that she and Jeremy have the kids and they're okay."

Elena's heart jumped a beat. "Oh my god, the kids . . . they must've found me . . ."

"They're okay," Stefan embraced her. "You're all okay." He looked down at the baby again. "She's perfect."

Elena smiled. "She is . . ." She snuggled the baby closer. She looked up into Stefan's eyes. "And to think, Dr. Warner didn't even think we were going to make it past the first trimester."

"It wasn't an easy road," Stefan sighed, remembering the last nine months filled with worry and dread and near disasters. Elena breathed out, her thoughts mirroring his.

There was a knock on the door and the couple looked up as an older man in a white lab coat walked in. Upon seeing Stefan he smirked, "Mr. Salvatore, I'm glad you were able to make it so quickly." He turned to Elena. "Elena, how are you feeling?"

"Sore," She let out a deep breath. "My stomach is really tight. It wasn't like this with the other kids." Stefan held her hand. "And I don't really remember how I got here."

Dr. Warner sat down on a stool, holding her chart. "Your oldest, Millie, found you bleeding on the floor in your bathroom." Elena's heart dropped with guilt at having put her child through that. "She called your brother and 911 and took care of the little ones."

Elena nodded, sniffling slightly and wiped a tear from her eye. Stefan squeezed her hand tighter, "What exactly was it?"

"It was what we were hoping wouldn't happen," Dr. Warner sighed. "Simply put, you bled out. We're not sure what brought it on or why but it happened. It's not uncommon in high-risk pregnancies such as yours."

"But we're okay, right? Me and the baby?" Elena cradled her newest little one close.

Dr. Warner let out a deep breath. "Yes. You are both perfectly healthy." Stefan and Elena sighed in relief. "However . . . we couldn't stop the bleeding fast enough and were forced to perform a full hysterectomy."

Elena's breath hitched and Stefan hugged her tightly They both looked down at the baby that would officially be their last.

"We'd like the both of you to stay for a couple of days, just to keep an eye on things." Dr. Warner said. The two parents nodded. "Other than that, we have no worries. We just want to watch this little one especially with the problems we've had over the last few months and the traumatic delivery."

"But you're not worried?" Stefan said.

"No, we're confident she'll be okay. We just want to keep her near and monitor her on the off chance something presents itself later on." Dr. Warner said. Stefan and Elena relaxed – only a little – and left it at that. "So . . . do we have a name for this little one yet?"

"Ye―" Stefan started but stopped, turning to his wife. He raised an eyebrow. "Did we agree on that one or not?"

"Not really," Elena shrugged. "And, actually, I thought of a better one: Angela." Stefan nodded, smiling. "We thought we were going to lose her – multiple times – but she survived. She's going to bring our family even closer – like a guardian angel."

"I like it," Stefan nodded, hugging his girls. "Should we still use the middle name we wanted to?"

"Yes," Elena agreed. "Angela Carolynn Salvatore." They kissed briefly and looked down at little Angela.

"It's beautiful," Dr. Warner smiled. "I'll send the nurses in a bit and we'll print the birth certificate." He stood, walking toward the door. "I'll be later to check on you."

"Thank you, Dr. Warner," Elena said. "You always take such good care of us."

"You're good people," He said. "And I went to medical school with your father. He was a good man, a good doctor."

"He was," Elena nodded, wishing he and her mom could be with her now. Dr. Warner left the room, leaving the little family to themselves. Angela cooed in her sleep. Stefan slipped his shoes off and lay on the bed beside them, careful not to pull any wires or tubes. They both lay down with the baby between them. He wrapped his arms around his wife and she snuggled into his side.

"You okay?" He asked quietly.

She nodded, "Just thinking." She sighed, a tear escaping her eye. "This is it. No more."

"Maybe it's just as well," Stefan sighed. "I almost lost the two of you today.

She snuggled closer. "I guess six is good. Any more and people'll think we're starting a cult or something."

"Nah," He kissed her. "They'll just get jealous 'cause it's clear that our marriage is so awesome and we can't keep our hands off of each other."

Elena giggled, smiling. "You're as bad as a teenager." She swatted his wandering hand from her thigh.

"Hey, I spent over a hundred years as one," He shrugged, smirking. "Old habits die hard."

"Haha," She chuckled, yawning.

"You tired, baby?" Instantly the teen-Stefan was gone and replaced by the mature husband and father.

"A bit," She admitted.

"Sleep, it's been a big day," He insisted. "I'll call the nurse to come get Angela."

At the first use of her daughter's name, Elena smiled. "Nah . . . leave her here. She's fine."

"Okay," He nodded, kissing her. Moments later she was asleep, a smile on her face. He watched Elena and Angela sleep for a long while.

* * *

Four days later, Elena and Angela were finally able to go home. Elena was still a bit sore but Dr. Warner said that would go away on its own and to stay as inactive as possible for a few months.

The other kids were still with Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Jeremy – though they'd already visited a few times at the hospital as well as Damon and Caroline, Sherrif Forbes, Mrs. Lockwood, Tyler, and Matt and his wife – so when it was time to go home it was just Stefan, Elena, and Angela.

They had a quiet homecoming – Angela fell asleep in the car. Elena carried the sleeping bundle into the Boarding House, followed closely by Stefan with the diaper bag and Elena's suitcase. She took it slow, her body still sore. Upon walking in, the two found streamers and decorations and a banner that said "Welcome Home Mommy And Angela" on the mantle by the fireplace.

After a quick call to talk to the kids and a few bites of a sandwhich, Elena was tired. Stefan got her settled upstairs in bed and after a quick feeding for Angela both mother and baby were crashed on the bed. Stefan, too, fell asleep and the three napped together.

Hours later, Elena awoke feeling thirsty. Seeing as Angela was stirring too, Elena picked the newborn up and the two headed downstairs. Stefan was still snoring in the bedroom.

As soon as Elena descended the last step and her foot touched the carpet, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Panicking, she held Angela close as she wandered the main floor.

"Relax," A familiar voice echoed behind Elena.

She turned to find her double lounging on the couch in the living room. Elena's heart pounded furiously. She opened her mouth to yell for Stefan.

"I wouldn't do that," Katherine shook her head. "He'd never make it down here fast enough." The centuries old vampire stood, her hips swaying seductively – as usual – as she walked.

Elena's bottom lip trembled and she hugged Angela tighter. The infant squirmed, sensing her mother's discomfort.

"You better calm her down. We wouldn't want poor Stefan to wake up to a massacre," Katherine's voice was calm yet dangerous, almost having a sing-song tone to it.

Elena rocked the bundle in her arms, willing her own heartbeat to slow down. "W-What do you want?"

Katherine's attitude shifted from threatening to bored. She shrugged, "Check in on things." She began strolling around the room, observing the toys and other human clutter scattered around the Boarding House.

Confusion and curiosity as well as concern flashed in Elena's eyes. "B-But Klaus is dead. There's no one coming after you anymore."

Katherine looked up, putting down a child-made clay sculpture of a kitten back down on the coffee table. "True. Let's call it genetic curiosity then." She paused. "I believe that's what Isobel told you about why I went looking for her."

"How do yo―"

"I was there, watching," Katherine shrugged. Elena swallowed. "Anyway, things seem a lot better than they were the last time I was here."

"They are," Elena nodded, still rocking Angela.

Katherine's eyes were on the newborn and it made Elena's blood boil. "I see that. No marital problems, then?" Elena shook her head. Katherine's gaze left the newborn and travelled up and down Elena from head to toe. "I must admit, though, it's strange to see what time does to a body. Guess we're not really identical anymore. Oh, don't worry – I'm sure you still get carded."

"What's your point?" Elena snapped.

"No point," Katherine shrugged. "Just to check up."

"You don't care about anyone but yourself," Elena remembered the conversation in that tomb they'd had years ago about how Katherine became a vampire.

"Exactly," Katherine nodded. "And that'll never change. But you and all your little ones . . . you share my blood. You're a part of my little one – proof that she was okay. She had a life and a little one of her own. Klaus didn't get to her like he did the rest of my family." Elena just watched her, unsure of what to say. "After so many years as a vampire that switch we can turn on or off goes away. It's not so easy to just not care. So . . ." Katherine sighed, walking right up in front of Elena. Elena tensed and stepped back on instinct, holding Angela as close to her body as she could. Katherine smiled. "That's right. You hold on to her, to all of them. Don't ever let anyone hurt them or take them away."

"W-Why are you saying these things?" Elena said.

"Because they're true," The vampire shrugged. "You may not want to believe it but no matter how far down I try to shove my humanity I could never hurt you or your children. I haven't yet – though I've had the chance multiple times – and I never will." She raised her hand and gently caressed Angela's smooth, clean skin. Elena cringed, her maternal instincts flaring. "She's beautiful. She has Stefan's eyes . . . but the rest is all Petrova. Definitely a little heartbreaker when she grows up."

"How am I supposed to trust you?" Elena swallowed as Katherine took another step forward. Katherine pulled back her hand and let it rest at her side.

"The instincts that are surging within you, the ones that are telling you to take your child far, far away from me?" Katherine sighed. "I still have those too. Those are the one kind of feelings I was never able to push down. Why else would I have trusted Isobel so easily? Why else would I have risked my life to come back to Mystic Falls to protect you? Why else would I have gone with Damon and Caroline to save your daughter?"

"But the tomb vampires . . ." Elena reasoned.

Katherine shook her head. "They were idiots and they would have led Klaus right to you."

"You and Isobel did that just fine," Elena spat out.

"That, honestly, was all Isobel. I hadn't known it until later but Klaus found her even before I did. He figured out her bloodline and compelled her even before Damon turned her into a vampire." Katherine told her.

"But―"

"Elena, I can't hurt you. I won't. Ever," Katherine said. "Trust me, I've tried to want to. I tried harder than ever to squash those feelings down but it never worked." She swallowed. "I really did come to check on you, on her, on all of you. You're my family and as long as I live I will continue to protect you. You have my word, Elena. The Petrova bloodline will continue and I'll make sure of it."

Without another word, the vampire disappeared in a blur. Elena stood frozen, holding Angela. The newborn cooed, oblivious to the fact that she'd been in the presence of a dangerous vampire.

Elena reflected on Katherine's words. She had no reason to trust her . . . but then all evidence to the present proved that she could trust her.

She looked down at Angela who was now awake and staring up at her with her big adorable eyes. The infant was so at ease, she'd never once cried in fear the entire time Katherine was in the room. Elena smiled and Angela's lip curled ever so slightly.

Elena sat down on the couch, resting her sore body before her legs gave out. Rocking her arms, her eyes wandered the room. She looked at every picture of every child scattered within view. Of course, there was plently more around the rest of the house too. There was her motherly-Millie, her pride and joy of a twelve-year-old who relished in her title of 'big sister' and selflessly helped her parents with the younger ones.

Then there was Allen "Al" Stefan Salvatore, her quiet five year old. Born only four months after Elena's divorce to her ex-husband was finalized and three months after his parent's wedding, he was Stefan's little man all the way. It hadn't been too long after Christmas the year they got back together before finding out they were already expecting. The doctor had been surprised they were able to conceive so easily after Elena's miscarriage. Everything in her pregnancy with Al had been like magic – everything normal, no complications or anything out of the ordinary. Even the birth was practically textbook. The boy followed his father around everywhere and wanted to be a writer just like Daddy – well, and Mommy – when he was all grown up.

Not even two years younger than his brother was Owen Alaric Salvatore. They'd initially decided to wait until Al was a few years older to try again but an anniversary trip to St. Lucia – which they'd spent most of the time at the hotel – resulted in another baby. They couldn't have been happier though, deciding after Owen's normal yet long-lasting and strenuous birth that they wanted a big family. The doctor, however, wasn't sure how much more Elena's body could take. Three-year-old Owen was a kind, polite, and thoughtful little child who was in every way a momma's boy. He helped Elena cook and clean and anything else he was able to do.

The twins – Brianna "Bryn" Alexia and Elliot "Eli" Damon Salvatore – were quite the surprise. After a few months of trying again – despite what the doctor said – they hadn't had much luck. Then, out of nowhere, they discovered they were pregnant with twins this time. The two one-and-a-half year-olds certainly were both a loud and boisterous set. Even their birth was quite the dramatic affair when it was discovered that little Bryn had been cutting off oxygen and food to her twin. The delivery had been awful lasting over forty-six hours and draining Elena of almost all her energy – not to mention her own life – and Stefan and Elena had been told that was probably it for kids for them. Well, until Angela. The twins, though, couldn't be more opposite from each other. Little Eli was like his uncle Damon in every way; truly a little flirt with every girl he came in contact with. Bryn, on the other hand, was exactly like Stefan's old friend Lexi. She was sensitive to the people around her and their feelings and she always found a way to put a smile on those around her.

When they discovered they were pregnant this last time – again, completely on accident – Dr. Warner warned them that it may not make it full term. She'd been on bedrest pretty much the whole nine months. No stress, barely any movement. There was a few scares where they thought she lost the baby, but all of them turned out to be false alarms.

Elena looked down, watching Angela's pudgy little face as the newborn slept. She wondered what her youngest child's personality was going to be like. Would she be quiet like Allen and Owen? Would she be fierce and protective like Millie? Would she be loud and boisterous like the twins? Or would she be something completely different that Elena hadn't thought of? She also wondered – often – about the child she lost so many years ago. Would she have had a boy or a girl? What would he or she look like or act like now? Would she and Stefan have had as many children as they did if they'd already had Millie and the other one before they married?

"Elena?"

She heard Stefan call her name and she looked over her shoulder as he walked down the stairs. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as he hit the last step. "Hey." She smiled.

He smiled and sat down beside her, looping his hand with hers. "You two okay?"

"Yeah," She nodded. "Just thinking." She decided not to tell him about Katherine's visit. He would just worry and for some reason Elena actually trusted her doppelganger this time.

"It's so quiet in here." He sighed, looking around.

"'Til the kids get home," Elena chuckled. "Which, when are Jer and Bon bringing them? I don't remember."

"Um . . . tomorrow I think," Stefan said. "Then this weekend we have Millie's play to go to."

"Right," Elena nodded. "And . . . next week is Parent's Day at Al's school."

"Followed by our book release the week after," Stefan smiled, leaning over to kiss her.

"Geez, so much to do," Elena sighed. "Hey, do you remember the good 'ol days when we had to fight for normal moments like these?"

Stefan rolled his eyes. "You were very insistent. But . . . I'm glad you were. The double date with Matt and Caroline, the pre-dawn ferris wheel ride, the walk through the falls, the weekend at your parent's lakehouse, sneaking around when everyone thought we were fighting . . . those days made the hard ones worth it."

"Yes, they did," Elena agreed, remembering right along with him.

Of course, mostly all of those memories – along with a few others – were in their "fictional" young adult novel they just released together. Names and a few details were changed but those closest to them knew who was who and what was what. The novel was about a girl who lost her parents and a boy – a vampire – who'd lost everything and how the boy and the girl bring each other "back to life" and find love and face different challenges and enemies along the way. Their editor just loved the concept and it was expected to turn into a book series and maybe a television series based on it. A couple of critics who'd pre-read the book claimed it was "the new Twilight" and predicted a long shelf-life for the series. While Stefan and Elena were proud of their success, they were more proud that they'd written the novel together and were able to talk about their past and write about it and grow as a family and couple because of it.

Angela cooed in her sleep and Elena scooted closer to Stefan. She felt slightly sleepy again and closed her eyes, relaxed and safe and comfortable with her family.

Elena sighed as she thought about her parents and how she wished they could be here to see their grandchildren. She thought about her friends and brother and the happy lives they'd made for themselves. She thought about her ex-husband – how happy they'd been and how that happiness twisted into a dark and obsessive abuse. She thought about the day Stefan came back and how truly happy they've been since.

"I recognize that sigh," Stefan – though his eyes were also closed – smirked. "You've got an idea for a new book."

Elena smiled, shaking her head. Her eyes were also closed as they relaxed on the couch. "No . . . just thinking again." She inhaled and a mixture of the newborn milky smell and Stefan's musk filled her senses. "When you left to go with Klaus I felt so alone. It didn't matter that I had all of my friends and Jeremy and Alaric and Damon and later Phillip. Without you I felt alone and empty and it wasn't until you came back that that feeling went away."

"I'll never leave you," Stefan wrapped his arms around her.

She smiled, reveling in the love in his embrace. She cleared her throat. "I never told you or anyone this . . . but when Millie was born I had a dream about you."

"What was it about?" Stefan asked.

"I was still in the hospital, unconscious. It was right after the emergency delivery and I hadn't even seen Millie or named her or anything." She entwined her fingers with his. "Phillip was . . . somewhere. I don't even know. Probably trying to cover up how I fell in the first place. Anyway, I was asleep and dreaming. In the dream I was sitting in the middle of a garden, holding Millie in my arms, and you walked up behind me. You wrapped your arms around me and whispered in my ear." She let out a deep breath. "You told me that you loved me and you missed me and you would come home to me someday." A tear fell down her cheek and she held Angela close. "You told me that we would be together forever and we'd have a family someday and to take care of our little girl until you got home."

"Our little girl . . ." Stefan repeated.

Elena nodded, grinning. "You said – in the dream – to take care of our Millie until her daddy could come home to her and me." Stefan just stared. "It's how I named her, from the dream. I didn't really understand it then – most days I still don't. You didn't go into my dream that day, did you?"

Stefan frantically shook his head. "At that point I'd been on the human blood so long I didn't even know who I was anymore. I'd turned my humanity and memories off completely until Lucy found me. But . . . that was long after Millie was born."

"Hmm . . ." Elena sighed.

"Maybe it was just a dream. A part of you was still holding on to me and you wanted Millie to be mine and for us to be a family. Your dream just played that out for you," Stefan suggested.

"Maybe," Elena shrugged. "It came true, though."

"Yes, it did," Stefan nodded. "Took a few years, but we're here."

"We are," Elena smiled, leaning her head up to kiss him.

He returned the kiss sweetly and hugged her. "Well, Mrs. Salvatore . . . now that we've got all these kids and a book deal and a possible television show, what's next?"

Elena smiled again, "I dunno, Mr. Salvatore. Maybe we should fill our days with picnics and camping trips and movie marathons and travelling and other normal things like retiring early."

"I say that sounds perfect," Stefan agreed, kissing her.

And so Stefan and Elena lived their lives to the fullest. They spent every moment they could together and with their children and friends. They lived and loved with every breath, never wasting a single second.

They watched their children grow happy and healthy, and then their grandchildren, and great grandchildren and so on and so forth until their hearts beat no more. And then . . . well, they lived happily in eternity together.

The End.


End file.
